Of Paper, Hair, and Gods
by haplessgrapefrut
Summary: Sawada Tsunayoshi was a college student gifted in creating art. When he discovers the existences of gods and creatures of legend, his life is turned upside down. As he gains more family members, he discovers more about the world around him as well as about himself.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hello, all! This is my first story that I am putting on this website, although this is not the first I've ever written. I've dabbled a bit in writing, and I wanted to share something that I just wrote with you all and get some feedback about grammar and writing style as well as plot and interest in general. It's an idea I had while reading Kamikami Kaeshi, and although similar in very minimal aspects, it is also very very different. Please enjoy!

As a warning, I may or may not continue this story, and so far I only have this much written out. If I continue depends solely on if I have the time and the motivation to continue.

Summary: Sawada Tsunayoshi was a college student gifted in creating art. When he discovers the existence of gods and creatures of legend, his life is turned upside down. As he gains more family members, he discovers more about the world around him as well as himself.

XxX

Sawada Tsunayoshi sighed and stared out the window. It was beautiful. Cherry blossoms were blooming, and the sun shone brightly overhead. He wished he could be outside, basking in the sun, but…

"Sawada, are you paying attention?"

Tsuna jumped and faced forward again, laughing nervously. "Sorry, sensei, what did you say?"

The professor frowned, eyes narrowed and lips tugged downwards. "Sawada, please pay attention from now on."

Tsuna bowed his head sheepishly. "Yes, sensei."

As the professor turned back to lecturing, Tsuna sighed and gazed back outside.

Tsuna was, in fact, a very diligent student. He worked hard and managed decent grades. While not popular, he also had a close circle of friends, people he could rely on and love. However, as average as he was, he was very exceptional in one area.

Art.

When he drew, he drew not two dimensional things, but wonderful images that grew out of the paper and into the air. When he painted, swirls of colors manifested and flowed around him. When he sculpted, lumps of stone became masterpieces of life. He loved creating things with all of his heart, and his mind was always a swirl of ideas and half-formed plans, ready to be created by his nimble hands.

There was, though, one obstacle that kept him from pursuing his passion.

_"__Tsuna, you're really talented, really, but you won't make a living out of drawing. Think of all of the artists out there who are more talented. Sure, you're good here in Namimori, but what about all of Japan? No, you're better off finding a real job."_

Tsuna sighed again wistfully, wishing to capture the pink hues of the cherry blossoms outside and the light textures of the wind rustling the grass. However, here he was, stuck in a lecture involving math (he honestly had no idea what was being taught right now).

"Sawada!"

Tsuna jumped and faced forward again. He stared up at the angry professor and shrunk under his angry glare.

"Sorry!"

XxX

As Tsuna entered his dorm, his lips twitched upwards. He cheerfully said, "Tadaima!"

"Welcome back, Tsuna-kun," one of his suitemates, Kozato Enma, a clumsy if friendly red-haired male, answered. He stirred the curry on the stove, which was emitting the most delicious smells.

"Is everyone back yet?" Tsuna asked, entering his room and setting down his bag. He collapsed on his desk chair and rested his head on his arms, completely worn out.

"Xanxus-san is out with his group, probably getting drunk again. I think Byakuran-san is out with his friends as well," Enma responded, bringing the pot ladle to taste the curry. He frowned and added more salt. "It's just you and me tonight."

"What about your friends?" Tsuna called from his room and grabbed his large bag of art supplies before bringing them all out to the common room. He pulled out his sketchbook and flipped to the most recent page. Opening his case of colored pencils, he began sketching images that had already been planted in his vivid imagination: the beautiful sakura trees, with pink petals flying in the wind and the sun shining through the leaves so that the branches glowed softly.

"They all have homework. I'm actually surprised that Xanxus-san and Byakuran-san have so much free time," Enma commented before bringing the stove down to a simmer. He sat on the couch beside Tsuna and watched him draw. "I've got an essay to finish too, so I won't be around tonight much. What about you?"

Tsuna shrugged. "I should work a bit on math, but I really don't have the motivation."

The red head frowned. "You should work. You got called out in class today, you know."

"Yeah, I know."

Enma laid back comfortably, his red eyes following the familiar movements of his best friend's hand and watching lines curl around the pages.

"Why don't you take an art class?"

Tsuna stopped drawing. He laid down his pencil carefully and looked at the red head from the corner of his eye. "You know why."

"You shouldn't listen to your dad, you know. I'm sure you'd be very successful as an artist."

Tsuna smiled softly, his brown eyes warm. "Thank you for saying so, Enma-kun. I can't, though. There are thousands more people more talented than me."

The two stared at each other, red challenging brown. The stare-down was interrupted by the shrill beeping of the rice cooker. Enma stood without a word and walked to the steaming device.

"Let's eat, Tsuna-kun."

Tsuna stood as well. "Yes, let's."

XxX

It was when drawing that Tsuna lost himself the most. Painting was fine, and so was sculpting, but it was drawing and sketching that he enjoyed the most. The ability to form figures with a stroke of a pencil, the ability to bring life to dull white paper with a flick of his wrist. He could give eyes life and hands motion. He could give content with scenery or fierce beauty with animals. He could bring things into reality.

Tonight, he sketched the cherry blossom tree. He shaded the sky a bright, bright blue, outlined birds that flew freely, and sketched the green green grass. The work grew to life, and in his mind, he watched the sakura tree grow out of the paper, the felt the bark beneath his fingertips, and smelled the sweet fragrance as the wind brought the scent to his nose…

...wait.

Tsuna paused and sniffed again. He really did smell sakura, which was strange since his window was closed. He brought his head up and glanced around his room. His door was closed too, so it couldn't have come from outside either.

Suddenly, he heard a giggle.

"_Hiiiiie!_"

He yelped and spun around. Pencils flew to the ground, and the tips broke against the hardwood floor. However, he wasn't concerned with any of this.

He was, rather, focused on the floating girl in front of him.

She was a tiny thing, only two or three inches tall and floating at eye level. She was dressed in a light pink dress, with brown hair flowing over her shoulders and pink bracelets adorning her wrists. Her smile was bright.

"Hi, nice to meet you!"

"Argh!"

Tsuna quickly backpedaled until his back hit the wall. He leveled a shaky finger at the tiny girl.

"Who are you?!"

The girl tilted her head and smiled cutely.

"You humans know me as Konohana Sakuya-hime, but you can call me Kyoko!"

"W-what?" he stuttered, slightly hysterical.

_There was a tiny girl floating in his room claiming to be a goddess. Oh kami._

The girl huffed. "Really, Tsu-kun, this is where you're supposed to introduce yourself! Just say 'Hi, my name's Sawada Tsunayoshi, but you can just call me Tsuna!' It's not hard at all!"

Tsuna was just frozen, staring at the tiny girl.

The pink girl (because really, the only thing not pink about her was her hair and eyes, which were a warm brown) flew until she was only a few inches from Tsuna's face. She frowned and snapped her fingers. "Tsu-kun?"

"Y-you're a goddess," he stated before mentally kicking himself. He thought he'd gotten over stuttering a while ago! Revealing such an embarrassing fault in front of such a pretty, if tiny, goddess was embarrassing. "How do you know me?"

Kyoko smiled brilliantly. "Well, I'm a goddess, so of course I know you! I know everyone!" She spread her tiny arms to depict the amount of people she knew. The sight would have been amusing, since her arm span was so small, but Tsuna was in slight shock.

Tsuna frowned and relaxed slightly. "Why?"

The goddess frowned. "Why am I a goddess?"

Tsuna shook his head, his fluffy brown hair bouncing slightly. As he looked back up, he saw Kyoko staring at it intently, with a hint of...yearning and want? He blushed scarlet.

"No, why are...why are you here?"

"Oh, silly, because you have great hair!" she replied cheerfully.

...what.

Tsuna patted his brown hair. It seemed normal, if a bit soft and fluffy. He actually didn't like his hair that much. It added so much unnecessary volume to his head, but he never had the motivation to cut it. He did, once, but after the mocking that followed, he vowed never to cut his hair that much again.

"My hair?"

"It's perfect for living in, silly!" Kyoko exclaimed and zoomed around his head in dizzying circles. "Look at how soft, clean, and fluffy it is! So much room, and so comfortable, you could house so many gods in there! Oh, will you let me live here, pretty pretty please?"

Tsuna's wide brown eyes widened. "But I don't want so many gods living in my hair!"

Kyoko looked stunned. "You don't? But think of the recuperative abilities it has!"

"Recuperative abilities?"

"Yeah!" Kyoko pulled a strand of aforementioned hair, and Tsuna winced. "See, we gods love two things above all, not including our domain. We love those who work with paper, and we love those who have nice hair. Paintings and drawings on paper give us life and power. They help us exist. They depict and immortalize their subject. Once painted, the image will never fade, even if the work itself is destroyed. We forever live in the minds of all the people who see it. We take joy when others take joy from such things.

"Hair, on the other hand, gives us a place to rest. When our duties become too harsh, when we need time to recuperate, we do so in the soft strands of hair. Hair's close to the body and the soul, see? It's like a mirror. People who take care of their hair tend to take care of their bodies and their souls. Damaged hair signifies carelessness and disregard, and hair too beautiful embodies vanity. We like clean, simple hair.

"Your hair reflects you perfectly, you know," Kyoko continued. "It's nice and soft, like you. You don't care much for appearances and accept things with open arms. You're caring and loving."

Tsuna's blush, which had disappeared, readily returned. "R-really, I'm nothing special! You're making too much out of me!" he protested, trying to flatten his uncooperative hair.

"See, that's another thing about you!" Kyoko exclaimed, pointing a tiny fist at his attempt to flatten his hair. "You'll do things that are right and will ignore others in favor of your opinions. You won't be oppressed by authority, just like your hair!"

Tsuna wanted to melt into a puddle in the floor.

"I think now you're just making stuff up…" he muttered dejectedly.

This was probably a joke. Somebody up there wanted to play a joke on poor, insignificant Tsuna by sending a tiny girl down here. It was cruel, and Tsuna felt his eyes tear up slightly.

Tiny hands tapped at his cheeks and brought his face to meet the eyes of a gentle goddess. "You're wrong, Tsuna. You're a strong man, you just don't have enough confidence in yourself. Look at your drawing of that sakura. It's beautiful, and you devoted yourself to something that many people don't pay much attention to. You're a good person, Tsuna."

Tsuna stared at the brown eyes, overflowing with warmth. He smiled crookedly.

"Really? This isn't a joke?" he asked.

Kyoko smiled. "No, this isn't a joke. We gods choose our hosts well, and I believe that you are a good person. Please allow me to live in your hair."

Tsuna stared at the tiny goddess. Such a small thing, but she exuded strength from her words and beauty from her expressions. He brought his hands up to Konohana Sakuya-hime, and the goddess of cherry blossoms landed on his hands.

"Okay. For you."

XxX

The next day, Tsuna woke with the strangest dream. He remembered something about goddesses, paper, and hair. He yawned and stretched his arms.

"Oh, is it morning already?"

Tsuna promptly fell off his bed.

As he stared at the ceiling, a tiny, brown headed girl poked her head into his vision.

"Are you okay, Tsu-kun?"

Right, it wasn't a dream then.

"Fine, you just surprised me."

"Sorry, sorry!" Kyoko smiled sheepishly. "You should get ready for college, Tsu-kun. Your class begins in a short while."

Tsuna glanced at his alarm clock and paled.

"Crap!"

He rushed out of his room and sped through his daily rituals. As he finished and dashed into the common room to grab some toast, he smashed into a hard chest.

"Fuck, watch where you're going, trash," a deep, threatening voice warned.

Tsuna looked up and bowed apologetically. "Sorry, Xanxus-san, but I'm late!"

The dark skinned male, significantly taller than the short brunet, snorted. "You're always late, brat. Get going. Kozato has breakfast ready."

Tsuna was about to voice his thanks when a tiny figure zoomed right up to Xanxus's face and peered into his eyes. "Wow, Tsu-kun, your suitemate's so scary!"

The brunet paled, glancing between the scowling taller man and the tiny goddess. The scarred man didn't seem to notice the floating miniature goddess in front of his face, but he did notice Tsuna's increasingly worried appearance.

"Trash! Are you paying attention to me?" Xanxus snarled, bringing his face down so that it was right in front of the shorter male's.

"Hie! Sorry, Xanxus-san, but I'm really late!" Tsuna cried and raced around Xanxus, who was staring at Tsuna in a threatening (and slightly concerned, though he would murder anyone who said so) manner.

"Then scram!" he called after the retreating man.

Xanxus, despite his scary appearance, wasn't that bad of a suitemate. The first time Tsuna ever met him at the beginning of the school year, he nearly wet his pants. Xanxus was nearly always angry and scowling, and did not hold back in dishing out any physical abuse. His friends were similarly violent and eccentric. Tsuna remembered a traumatic encounter with one such friend, a knife-wielding, blond haired man with the most unnerving grin he'd ever seen. Tsuna resolved to stay away from Xanxus and his whole group.

However, when Xanxus's grandfather visited, Tsuna could see the resentment, the anger close to boiling over. While Timoteo, Xanxus's grandfather, was a nice man, he did not voice many of the issues that even Tsuna could see between them. Xanxus was an independent person and hated relying on others. However, Tsuna could see his need for affection and his loneliness, and the way Timoteo treated his grandson was shallow at best.

He learned that Xanxus was adopted by the elderly, and that his parents had died. He could tell that Timoteo had never properly sat his grandson down for a talk about his parents, about what they were like and what their dreams were. He learned that Xanxus was a bastard child, and, since he was from a relatively wealthy family, he was always shunned by the rest of his relatives. Although Timoteo tried his best to comfort his grandson, he had other responsibilities, and so he had let Xanxus stew in his teenage angst, which grew into anger and violence.

"_Timoteo-san, I-I think you should talk to Xanxus-san more,_" Tsuna said one day, when Xanxus was out with his friends and his grandfather had dropped by.

Timoteo was stunned. "_I do talk to him, Sawada-san._"

Tsuna had just shook his head adamantly, and looked at the old man in the eye. "_Talk to him _more_. He deserves to know so much more, so much more love that nobody's ever given him. You should look after him more. He may not show it, but he wants that recognition and acknowledgement that he's not just a product of an affair his father had. You've only comforted him, right? It reminds him every time that he doesn't actually belong. Make him feel like family, Timoteo-san, and not like an outsider._"

Mortified at his brash courage, Tsuna had turned bright red and promptly fled and didn't see the considering look on the elderly man's face, nor did he see Xanxus's stunned countenance as he opened the door, having heard the entire of Tsuna's speech.

Afterwards, Xanxus seemed gentler, if still slightly violent and rough, towards Tsuna. Tsuna learned to relax around the scary man, though he was confused what brought on such an attitude change towards him. He assumed it was because Timoteo had taken his advice and made amends with his grandson.

His nostalgic thoughts flew away at the appearance of his other roommate, a white haired man who grinned like a fox.

"Tsu-kun, good morning!"

"Morning, Byakuran-san!"

"Wow, Tsu-kun, you have such interesting roommates!"

Tsuna yelped and spun around, seeing Kyoko's bright face as she giggled at his reaction.

"Tsu-kun?"

"Ah!" Tsuna jumped and spun around again. Byakuran was frowning slightly, and his violet eyes were aimed directly at Kyoko.

"I never knew you could see gods, Tsu-kun," Byakuran said slowly, a look that that Tsuna couldn't decipher descending on his face. His eyes narrowed, and the frown grew more pronounced. "What's a god doing around you?"

Kyoko puffed herself up. "I'll have you know, kitsune, that I'm living in Tsu-kun's hair!"

Byakuran glanced at the mortified Tsuna, who thought that a goddess living in his hair was very, very embarrassing. "Why can he see you?"

"Because he can, you know? He has the right attributes," Kyoko said happily, betting Tsuna's fluffy hair. "He's kind, gentle, and a good person."

Byakuran abruptly pulled Tsuna to his side, arms sliding around the shorter man's waist. Tsuna found himself facing the taller man's clothed chest. "He's not a plaything of the gods, Konohana Sakuya-hime. Please leave him."

Tsuna looked up at Byakuran, surprised. Why did Byakuran care so much? "She's just living in my hair, Byakuran-san, she's not doing anything bad. It's fine, right?" he asked, peering at the white-haired man's face. Byakuran seemed to be glaring at the goddess, who seemed miffed.

"Exactly, kitsune, it's none of your business. You're Byakuran, clan head of the kitsune, right? God affairs are not your own," Kyoko said stiffly, flying so that she had a handful of Tsuna's hair.

Byakuran's arms tightened around Tsuna. "You can surely find many more people who have the qualities that you are looking for. Do not involve Tsuna."

Tsuna was very, very confused. Kitsune? Byakuran was a kitsune? Tsuna's head spun. Too much information was flowing into his brain. Gods and goddesses were real? Kitsune were real? The next thing he knew, he would probably find a dragon talking to him.

(Later, he realized that he shouldn't have jinxed himself.)

"I will not, kitsune. I chose Tsuna, and you cannot tell me what to do," Kyoko said imperiously, eyes flashing. The smell of cherry blossoms grew stronger in the air.

Tsuna pushed away from Byakuran's chest and looked upwards towards the man, who had looked down in surprise.

"I'm fine, really, Byakuran-san. Kyoko-san's not bothering me," he said, watching as various emotions flitted through Byakuran's eyes. He saw worry, apprehension, and something akin to affection, though Tsuna was sure his eyes were playing tricks on him.

"If you're sure…" Byakuran said slowly, releasing the short brunet.

Tsuna nodded emphatically.

"Now, if we're done here, I believe Tsu-kun's late for class," Kyoko said primly from atop Tsuna's hair.

Tsuna instantly whipped his head around to stare at the clock before tugging his hair fretfully.

"I'm late, I'm so so late!"

XxX

Kyoko was concerned. As a goddess, she'd been around for centuries, since the beginning of spring that brought along the cherry blossoms and the first light wind that carried pink petals all throughout Japan. She'd seen rulers come and go, and she'd seen clans rise and fall.

When Byakuran had first risen as the new clan head of the kitsune, she'd been worried. The man was, granted, foxlike and very cunning, which was not very unusual. However, he displayed a kind of fierceness that most kitsune did not.

Before, the magical foxes had kept to themselves in their own realm, only occasionally venturing out to make sure that Japan was still standing. The gods made sure that no kitsune interfered too greatly, and they created strict rules for the outgoing traffic to the human realm. Their magic was too strong, and their temperament too fickle and too dangerous for humans. The kitsune had agreed before, that they would stay out of humans' lives.

However, when Byakuran rose, the kitsune became more bold. More ventured out into the human realm, and more became involved with humans. Byakuran's defense was that other creatures had always had the freedom to live in the human realm. Tanuki freely lived in forests, and dragons lived under the water, out of sight. If they could, why could not kitsune? They could weave illusions to disguise themselves, and they would no longer be confined to their small realm.

The gods had reluctantly agreed, but many were wary of the white haired leader. A man who could inspire so many, with such charisma and cunning, was dangerous.

Kyoko was surprised to see Byakuran here, living with Tsuna. While she had sense no ill intentions from the man, there had been a look of possessiveness and affection in his eyes when he saw Tsuna, and possessive kitsune were known to be very sly and manipulative. Well, hopefully it was nothing she couldn't handle. If Byakuran hurt Tsuna, she'd hurt him back. She was surprisingly fond of the fluffy haired man, although she had known him for only a night.

"Be careful of Byakuran, Tsu-kun. He's dangerous," she said, flying beside Tsuna as they returned to the dorms after his last class. It had turned out that the teacher was late as well (Kyoko claimed no responsibility for such an event, although there might have been so many sakura petals stuck to the professor's car that he had had a hard time getting it clean enough to drive).

"You should be the one to be careful, Kyoko-san! Everyone will see you!" he whispered back, earning strange looks from other students.

"Only certain people can see me, Tsu-kun, it's fine. Call me Kyoko-chan! I feel so old when you call me Kyoko-san," she answered, making circles in the air as they waited to cross the street.

Tsuna frowned, before his eyes brightened and he pulled out his phone and flipped it open. He pretended to punch several numbers in before bringing it up to his ear.

"Ah, Kyoko-chan!" he exclaimed after a short while. Kyoko was incredibly confused before realization dawned.

How clever! Tsuna was pretending to talk on the phone so that he could talk to Kyoko when there were people around! Kyoko giggled approvingly.

"Anyways, you should be careful of him. Kitsune are known to be very sly and dangerous. Byakuran might be planning something, and I don't want you hurt," she said, resting on Tsuna's fluffy hair as the light turned green and Tsuna crossed the street.

"He's really not that bad, Kyoko-chan. Sure, he was kind of creepy at first, but he's a good guy at heart. You shouldn't judge others so quickly," Tsuna admonished.

Kyoko was somewhat amused that a mortal would scold a goddess, but she was a very tolerant goddess. There was not much that would irritate her.

"Oh?" she asked, playing with a strand of hair in her small hands.

"He treats me very well, and he's always nice. Sure, he may be a bit shifty sometimes, and I swear he was the most underhanded motivations and actions other times, but he's not bad. Even if he is a kitsune, it's his personality that you should take heed of, not what he is," Tsuna explained.

Kyoko was silent. She had liked Tsuna, but now, she absolutely adored him. A man who judged from personality, who gave seconds changes like giving candy, and a man who knew how to accept even the most contradictory characters into his life. He had earned the acceptance of a rough bastard, Xanxus, and the affection of a strong magical creature, Byakuran. He made friends with tentative and skittish people like Enma, whom she had yet to meet but already knew of, and he accepted them all with open arms.

"You're right, Tsu-kun. I judged too quickly. Sorry!" she apologized cheerfully.

Tsuna smiled slightly. "It's no problem."

Kyoko sat back and smiled. She'd chosen an excellent person for her host.

XxX

A/N: I thank you all for reading, and I would really appreciate any feedback you can give me.

Best regards,

distractiongrapefrut


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Hello again! Thank you for everyone who reviewed, and thank you for everyone who favorited or followed my story! I'm surprised that so many enjoyed my story. I wrote more today, and hopefully you'll keep reading! Since the weekdays are starting again, this means that I won't have time to write any more, since I'm taking summer classes as well as working. However, I'll endeavor to write on the weekends. I know in general where this story is heading, and I've got very rough plans, but writing it all out is going to take a very long time.

Once again, motivation will be an issue, but I do not find my enthusiasm for this story waning yet, and if I do, I'll let you know!

All right, on with the story!

XxX

Days passed after Kyoko came to live in Tsuna's hair. Byakuran was continually wary of her, but he smiled his suspicious smile and kept his cheery countenance around Tsuna. He also ingested an increasingly large amount of marshmallows, and Tsuna guessed that it was a coping mechanism for strange or stressful situations.

Xanxus seemed to notice Byakuran's increased presence and took that as a challenge to stick to Tsuna more often as well. He glared while Byakuran smiled cheerily, and Tsuna just sighed tolerantly and cooked dinner.

Enma was his usual self, which was a relief. He hung around Tsuna when he had time, and the brunet was grateful.

One night, when Kyoko was back in his hair and asleep (he couldn't see her, and it was a mystery how she slept in his hair), he sat and opened his case of pencils again. He shifted around until he found a black pencil. He stared at his drawing of the sakura tree. Smiling slightly, he carefully etched in a figure with fierce features, though they were relaxed under the blooming tree. A coat hung from his body, and his lean figure was asleep. The idea of a fierce man resting peacefully had occurred to Tsuna that day, when Xanxus had fallen asleep after dinner on the common room couch. It gave the image a sense of security, that a powerful man could find himself asleep under a large tree.

"I hate sakura trees."

Tsuna screamed, and he flung himself away from his desk again. His eyes widened as he saw a small man floating in front of him. He was eerily reminiscent of the figure Tsuna had just drawn, he realized.

"A-ah, hello…" he stuttered, peering at the little man. He immediately yelped when something very small but very hard hit his head. The little man had flown with amazing speed and hit the brunet with small tonfas.

"Do not stutter, herbivore. It is not becoming," the little man said, grey eyes flashing with an implied threat.

Tsuna stayed silent and wary. He knew that if he tried to speak, he'd end up stuttering in front of this menacing presence anyways.

An awkward silence proceeded to pervade the room.

Well, to the small person (god?), the silence probably wasn't any sort of awkward, but to Tsuna, it was deafening and oppressive. He shrunk against his bed under steel grey eyes, which were studying him with a kind of scrutiny nobody wanted to come under.

"U-um, who are y-you?" he finally squeaked. The man's eyes narrowed, and his tonfa rose threateningly.

"What did I say about stuttering, herbivore?"

"Hie!"

Annoyance was leaking across the small man's face. He eyed Tsuna's hair speculatively before floating over and harshly tugging on a fluffy strand. Tsuna winced but managed to not voice his pain. He'd learned how to do that from bullies a long time ago.

The small figure proceeded to fly around Tsuna's head before landing in front of Tsuna's face and staring even more. He finally snorted and tucked his tonfa away.

"I am Hachiman, God of War and the Divine Protector. However, you will call me Kyoya," he simply stated. "I will be residing in your hair when I am around now."

And without a second word or thought, Kyoya zoomed into Tsuna's hair and disappeared.

Tsuna was left in an empty room. What exactly just happened?

XxX

Xanxus stared at Tsuna. The smaller man was cooking this time, since the red-haired trash had some meeting with his trashy friends, and kami knew that the white haired freak couldn't cook a fucking meal without either adding an obscene amount of marshmallows or burning the whole fucking thing to a crisp.

Xanxus didn't know what to think of the small brunet. On first sight, Xanxus already hated him. Tsuna was so small, and so incredibly weak. He'd labelled Tsuna as trash the moment he laid eyes on the brat. However, how he viewed Tsuna changed when he'd returned back to the dorms one day to find the small brat admonishing his grandfather.

It took balls of steel for a mere human to stand up to the head of the tengu family.

Xanxus's respect rose reluctantly at Tsuna's scolding, and even more at what the human had actually said. He could see the potential in the human now: a small kitten, unafraid to draw his claws. Of course, tengu ate bakeneko for breakfast, but Tsuna didn't need to know that.

Afterwards, Xanxus's actions towards Tsuna gentled, but he'd never admit that. He still called Tsuna trash on occasion, but Xanxus took care to never hurt Tsuna too badly or cut too deeply with his words.

And then there was the little goddess living in Tsuna's hair.

Xanxus was reluctant to not bring up the subject to Tsuna. Gods, although they cared for the wellbeing of humans, were known to be incredibly manipulative or too playful. They loved messing in the lives of mortals, and many times had Xanxus witnesses the destruction their lack of control could bring. The eruption of Mount Fuji was one such example.

(The deaths of his mother and father another, but Xanxus tried very hard to forget that.)

Xanxus recognized the goddess from his grandfather's many lessons that he'd been forced to sit through. Konohana Sakuya-hime, Goddess of Sakura and Earthly Life. She was one who brought the lives of the sakura and let the earth bloom with life. She was also the one responsible for the aforementioned eruption of Mount Fuji. As such, she could not be trusted.

The scarred man let her slide, though, when she had flown boldly in front of his face and stared at him. He could pretend to not see the small goddess, but this second presence he could not.

Hachiman, the God of War and the Divine Protector. He was a bloodthirsty individual who ruled his domain of destruction and protection with an iron fist. He protected what was his with a fierce determination that often brought many innocents to destruction. Those who were saved from annihilation by the god hailed his presence, but those who had tasted the steel of his tonfa and experienced his ability to create carnage cursed his existence.

Such a dangerous presence around Tsuna was not going to be allowed.

"Trash!" Xanxus barked suddenly, causing the brunet to jump. Another thing Xanxus noticed was that with the appearance of the god and goddess, Tsuna was a lot more jumpy than usual.

"Xanxus-san? Did you want steak for dinner tonight? Sorry, but we're all out of meat, so we'll have to have stir-fry," Tsuna said sheepishly, grinning shyly at the intimidating male.

Well, fucking yes, Xanxus always wanted steak, but that was a subject for another time. "I wasn't asking for you. I want to talk to the trash in your hair."

Tsuna's eyes widened, and their chocolate brown held shock and astonishment. "W-what? There's trash in my hair?" he attempted to deflect.

Xanxus was not fooled.

"The fucking flower bitch and the war trash."

Xanxus watched as horror dawned on Tsuna's face before his hair rustled. Two pinpricks of light flew out of the brown strands and popped into existence as pink swirled around a delicate figure and steel black spun around the other.

"Herbivore, _I will bite you to death._"

"That's so rude, Xanxus-san!"

Xanxus snarled, "What are you doing here, trash? Last I checked, you enjoyed messing with the mortal realm. We don't need your messes here."

Konohana Sakuya-hime puffed up in indignation, while Hachiman's steel eyes narrowed in danger.

"You cannot tell me what to do, _herbivore_. We do not have to explain ourselves you, mortal," Hachiman answered. "Demand such a thing again, and I will bite you to death."

"Kyoya, don't," Konohana Sakuya-hime said, placing a placating hand on his arm. The war god's own arm flashed out, carrying a little tonfa, at the sakura princess, who flew backwards out of danger. She turned back to the tengu. "Xanxus-san, I know that you do not like the gods for their actions against you, but we are here because we wish to be, and frankly, you can't stop us from being here. We are here only to live in Tsuna's hair and for his companionship, nothing else."

Xanxus seethed. "You are lying. There has never been a time when gods to not interfere in the lives of mortals."

Tsuna, forgotten in the midst of the argument, suddenly walked forward and grabbed the sleeve of Xanxus's shirt. His doe eyes stared up into Xanxus's flashing ones, and he sent the taller man a wobbly smile.

"Xanxus-san, I do not think that they are here to harm me. They just want to live in my hair, right?" he asked, turning pleading eyes on the two gods. Konohana Sakuya-hime visibly melted under his eyes and cooed happily, while Hachiman's eyes narrowed, but his tonfa lowered.

"What the herbivore says is true. We are here for his hair and nothing else," the war god answered, turning his chin up to stare at Xanxus with condescending eyes.

Xanxus clenched his fist. Truthfully, there was nothing he could do. However, with this confrontation, he had put certain information on the table.

_Hurt Tsunayoshi, and even if Xanxus could not hurt a god, he would do whatever he could to make their lives more complicated._

The tengu glared challengingly at the gods before backing off.

Xanxus turned away and slinked to his room.

_If anyone hurt Tsunayoshi, they would have Xanxus to deal with._

XxX

"Tsuna-kun, Kyoya and I are heading out!"

Tsuna glanced up from his math homework. Were they leaving already?

It had only been a week since Kyoya had invaded his life, one and a half since Kyoko had, but they were quickly becoming regular parts of his life. In the morning, Kyoko would wake him up while Kyoya grouched at the interruption of his sleep ("I will bite you to death, herbivore."). He'd go to classes while Kyoko flew around, making trees bloom with a flick of her wrist, and Kyoya would sometimes stick around and sometimes leave on his own. Whenever he left, though, there were sure to be reports of delinquents having been sent to the hospital or yakuza members arrested.

"It's only because we need to attend our duties elsewhere! Gotta make all the trees bloom, you know!" Kyoko reassured quickly, smiling brightly. Kyoya just huffed before leaving out via the window. Tsuna had quickly learned to keep it open; if he didn't, there'd be a small hole the next time he looked at it, a hole the size of a certain war god.

"You'll be back though, right?" Tsuna asked worriedly. His heart clenched at the thought of the two leaving his side permanently. He didn't want that.

"We'll be back in probably a week. I'll be extra speedy just for you!" Kyoko said cheerily. "But I've got to go soon. The cherry blossoms are waiting."

Tsuna only nodded, and watched the small goddess bid him a farewell and leave.

He felt colder and much more alone all of a sudden.

XxX

"Tsu-kun, how are you today? How were classes?" Byakuran asked, practically sang. It was a good day, a very very good day.

Why would it be a good day, you ask?

Because the two pesky gods were gone!

He'd noticed that they were there that morning, but now, they were gone, and it was such a good day. It was beautiful, in fact. Byakuran looked out at the cloudy sky and grinned in a smile eerily reminiscent of a fox.

Byakuran hummed as he plopped himself at the common room table and pulled out his own homework. Beside him, Enma was struggling through chemistry, and in the kitchen was Tsuna.

"Good, Byakuran-san. How about you?" Tsuna asked politely, shooting Byakuran a warm smile. He noticed, however, that the small brunet seemed a bit down.

"I'm fine, I'm fine! What's for dinner?" Byakuran asked, fiddling with his pencil. He needed to visit his realm soon, to check up on things, but he could wait until tomorrow. Kikyo should be fine without him for a while.

"Hamburger steak, is that fine?" Tsuna asked, flipping a patty over and scrutinizing the color.

Byakuran hummed in acquiescence.

There was a short period of silence in which Tsuna cooked, Enma did his homework, and Byakuran pretended to cook while watching Tsuna out of the corner of his eye. He grinned happily.

It was such a domestic scene. How cute~

The door slammed open, and every turned to see an irritated Xanxus. He scowled before promptly dumping his backpack on the ground and collapsing on the couch, feet propped up on the coffee table.

"Feet, Xanxus-san," Tsuna admonished, and Xanxus scowled harder before muttering a petulant "trash" and putting his feet down.

Whipped, the lot of them, Byakuran thought fondly.

Turning the stove to low, Tsuna let the sauce simmer before sitting next to Xanxus and grabbing his sketchbook. Xanxus closed his eyes and relaxed against the couch, and soon enough, he was asleep. Byakuran turned to his homework and began to diligently work on it, and Enma glanced around and smiled slightly.

It was peaceful, and very nice.

It wasn't peaceful and very nice after about five minutes.

There was a bright flash of light, and Tsuna yelped. What now?

"How EXTREME! You're an EXTREMELY good artist, Sawada!"

Byakuran groaned and nearly slammed his head on the table at recognition of the voice. Please let it not be…

"Hi, I'm Ame-no-Uzume, and some people call me Ryohei, but you can EXTREMELY call me onee-san! Hey hey, that's an EXTREMELY good drawing you've got there, Sawada! And EXTREMELY nice hair! Mind if I live there?"

Byakuran prayed, hoped that Tsuna would say no, that Tsuna would turn away this goddess (the most annoying one, in his opinion), but he knew Tsuna's temperament.

"W-what?! Why is everyone coming to me?" Tsuna wailed unhappily before glancing at his suitemates. Xanxus was glaring at the small goddess, while Enma was staring at her in a disbelieving manner. If anyone had looked at the red-headed male closer, they would have seen resentment and anger as well.

"Your hair is EXTREMELY nice, Sawada!" the goddess announced, nearly screamed, and Byakuran finally directed his attention towards the tiny goddess.

She had short silver hair, a bandage on her nose, and a lively and...voluptuous figure. Byakuran figured that since this was the same goddess that had lured Amaterasu out of hiding by dancing around naked, she had to have had a nice body. Bandages were wrapped around her fists and breasts, which was the only form of covering she wore above her waists. She wore a pair of loose-fitting shorts and sandals.

"Tsuna-kun, what…?" Enma started, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. What was this goddess doing here?

Byakuran glanced down at Tsuna's sketch and sighed in comprehension. The brunet had started drawing a sunrise, with reds and oranges. A sunrise, part of Uzume's domain.

At this rate, Byakuran was considering taking away his art supplies.

"There has to be tons of people with nice hair! Enma has nice hair, right?" Tsuna asked a bit hysterically, pointing at said red-head. Enma's frown grew even more pronounced.

"Gods don't make a habit in living in inugami hair, Tsuna. We're supposed to be quite...unpleasant smelling," Enma responded unhappily, himself wishing that the goddess would find someone else with nice hair. Inugami had a long-standing grudge against the gods, and the presence of one was enough.

Tsuna stared at him before yelping, "Inugami? You're an inugami?!"

"You didn't know, Sawada? This here is Enma, successor of the inugami clan!"

Enma sheepishly smiled. "Sorry, Tsuna-kun, we're not supposed to let mortals know about us, but since you already know a lot about gods and…others…" he trailed off, glancing at Xanxus and Byakuran.

Uzume grinned and clapped loudly. "Since you EXTREMELY know about everything now, you'll let me sleep in your hair, right?"

"But I've already got two living in my hair, I don't need a third!" Tsuna protested, and Enma stiffened. There were already two here? Why didn't he notice?!

Xanxus snarled. "Leave, god."

Byakuran said nothing. He didn't want anything to do with this particular goddess unless he wanted a headache later, even if he did resent the gods somewhat for containing the kitsune in a separate realm.

"No! I'm EXTREMELY living here! Right, Sawada? Hey, I can teach you boxing, and we can dance naked together! That sounds EXTREMELY fun, right?" Uzume cheered happily. She proceeded to zoom around hyperactively and punching the air, once even zooming close enough to Xanxus that he attempted to swat the goddess out of the air like an insect.

Tsuna looked torn between rejecting her for any peace he could get, and agreeing because he just had that big of a bleeding heart. Byakuran really hoped Tsuna would go with the second option, but alas…

"Okay, onee-san, you can," Tsuna finally said, smiling at the goddess loud cheer and little dance.

Byakuran only groaned, Xanxus looked murderous, and Enma was very, very unhappy.

If more gods kept appearing, Byakuran couldn't swear that there wouldn't be an all-out war between legendary creatures and gods.

XxX

The next morning, Tsuna woke at an obscenely early time. Why?

"Goooood morning, Sawada! It's an EXTREMELY good day, isn't it? Let's get up and watch the rising of the sun together!"

Tsuna groaned and rolled over in an attempt to ignore the hyperactive goddess.

What exactly had his life become?

Tsuna grunted when he felt something barrel into his shoulder, and he blearily sat up.

"It's six in the morning, onee-san! I don't have class for another three hours," Tsuna whined, watching Ryohei bounce around the windows and watch the sunrise avidly.

"You can EXTREMELY rest later, Sawada! Come watch the sunrise with me!" Ryohei said, and Tsuna sighed, dragged his body over to the window with a blanket, and watched the sunrise with the goddess of the dawn. It was quite peaceful, actually, and Tsuna felt the loneliness lift a little.

XxX

Kozato Enma was a very patient and gentle person. He was polite to rude people and caring for his friends. He took care of crude tengu like Xanxus and cunning, overbearing kitsune like Byakuran. Above all, he took special care of the mortal that had wormed his way into the inugami's heart, Sawada Tsunayoshi.

When Enma voiced his wish to experience the mortal world before he took up the helm of the inugami clan, he was allowed one year to attend university. He hadn't made many friends except those he brought with him, close family friends. However, when he'd moved into his dorm, he met Tsuna, a gentle human who smiled like the sun. It was wonderful, and Enma had immediately grown a liking for him.

When Enma discovered that gods were living in Tsuna's hair, he was concerned and angry. Long ago, the inugami had lived with the gods. There were no such things as grudges between them, and both parties were content. However, human greed interfered, and one human summoned down the clan head at the time, Kozato Simon. Under the human's will, Simon created great destruction and destroyed many lives. Disgusted, the gods had cast down the inugami clan, and from then on the inugami had lived on earth.

Enma thought it was unfair. Human greed had controlled his ancestor, and the gods, too wary of the inugami power and black magic, cast them out to lessen any perceived danger against them. Thus, a grudge had been born since that time, and that grudge lasted until today.

That there were multiple gods living in Tsuna's hair concerned him greatly. Granted, these current gods were not the same gods that had cast out the inugami, but these gods were still descendants of the original gods, perfectly capable of doing more harm to more creatures. Enma wanted to gather Tsuna close and hide him away from the divine beings, but it would be hard getting rid of three gods.

He only hoped that, with time, the gods would disappear on their own.

XxX

Tsuna flipped his pencil through the air. He was bored and afraid to draw. What if another god appeared? What if this time, something even scarier than Kyoya appeared? He dreaded to think of such a thing, and set his pencil down. He watched Ryohei sit on his desk.

The tiny goddess seemed tired.

"You okay, onee-san?" Tsuna asked concernedly.

Ryohei gave him a faint smile. "Don't EXTREMELY worry, Sawada! I'm always the most energetic at dawn, and at dusk, my energy drains. If I was in the god realm, I wouldn't have to worry about this, but…" she trailed off.

"Why aren't you in the god realm then?" Tsuna asked curiously, resting his head on his fist.

Ryohei eyed him for a moment, an uncharacteristic seriousness coming over her face.

"We gods are all looking for something."

"What?"

Ryohei frowned. "I'm not sure I can tell you, but all I can say is that we're looking for a very important person."

Tsuna tilted his head and leaned back in his chair. "Is it another god?" he asked in a sudden flash of intuition.

The silver haired goddess shot him an indecipherable look. "Yes, she is," she responded slowly.

The person was female then, Tsuna noted. Well, whatever the gods were doing, it was really none of Tsuna's business. He just really hoped that they didn't involve him in whatever they were doing.

"So who else is out there looking?" Tsuna asked, leaving the subject be. He wanted to know more about the gods and who they were. Legends never seemed to depict them well enough.

Ryohei brightened. "Well, there are the seven lucky gods. They're EXTREMELY talented and lucky people, so we hope they'll find her. Then there's Kagutsuchi, and Raijin, and even Tsukiyomi, though we think Tsukiyomi are doing it for their own agenda."

Tsuna listened as Ryohei babbled on about the different gods. It was amusing and refreshing, to have a friend who was always sulky, manipulative, or shy. His lips quirked, and the thanked the gods that he had met so many people of different personalities, made so many friends.

XxX

Several mornings later, Tsuna awoke to clouds and rain. The window was closed from the rain, and he hoped that neither Kyoya or Kyoko were returning anytime soon. He huffed and dragged himself out of bed, feeling as if he had forgotten something. As he glanced at his ringing alarm clock, his eyes widened and he wildly glanced around.

Ryohei hadn't awakened him to watch the sunrise that morning.

"Onee-san?" he asked quietly, looking for the bandaged girl. He felt his hair rustle, and he glanced upwards in relief. "Onee-san, you didn't wake me up this morning."

A depressed face appeared from the top of his vision. "It's raining, Sawada-san. I'll be up tomorrow morning to greet the dawn, but not today." And with that short statement, she promptly vanished back into Tsuna's hair.

Tsuna chuckled and left his room to get ready for classes.

"Good morning, Tsu-kun!" Byakuran said cheerily, waving at the still slightly groggy male.

"Morning, Byakuran-san, Enma-kun," Tsuna responded, including the red-head who was nursing a coffee. The other male merely grunted before downing his coffee.

It was, in all, a regular day, and for the first time in a very long time, Tsuna experienced how his life used to be, without the gods.

Tsuna realized how…dull his life used to be. There were no babbling goddesses flying around and making faces at the professor, nor were there any violent gods hitting random wrongdoers and making them yelp with a sadistic grin. It was a humbling thought, that these important figures were spending their time with him, a regular college student. He felt grateful for their company and hoped that Kyoko and Kyoya would be back soon. With Ryohei hiding in his hair, there really was nothing except for classes.

When he returned back to the dorms, though, warmth spread through his heart. The familiar atmosphere of a mischief making Byakuran, a scowling Xanxus, and a gentle, if not stern, Enma scolding whoever had thrown the wine glass (Tsuna had very strong suspicions on who that was) made him feel at home. Tsuna realized that, even if there were no gods around, he had his friends (who he discovered were legendary creatures) who were also his family. He smiled contentedly and joined in the organized chaos of his suite.

Tsuna had learned much to be grateful for that day, when a scowling and somewhat scratched up Kyoya returned, banging on the window furiously and threateningly waving his tonfa around. Tsuna received several smacks from the war god, but he grinned and waved the god into his hair for some much needed rest. Kyoko returned shortly after, laughing and smelling of spring. She kept him company as he finished his homework, and after a shower, she also returned to his hair.

When Tsuna slept that night, he dreamed pleasant dreams, of pink hues, flashing steel, and warm sunlight, of birds, dogs, and foxes. It was a good dream.

XxX

A/N: Thank you for reading, and please review and tell me what you think!

Best regards,

haplessgrapefrut


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: All right, I've churned out more! First, several things are in order.

Several of you have commented that this reminds you of Kamikami Kaeshi. I will repeat: yes, this story was based off of that manga. However, I've only taken the aspect of gods living in hair for this story. I was interested that kami could be interpreted as the word 'god', 'paper', or 'hair', and I wanted to write a story about that.

Second, some have asked about Ryohei's gender and if I had a reason for this. No, I do not have a particular reason for this other than the fact that Uzume is, in fact, a goddess, and there weren't enough male gods to fit for each guardian and other people I'd planned to be gods. Thus, there will be some males who have transformed into women. You'll see another one in this chapter, in fact.

Third, I've suddenly had a craving to write a song fic, and I wanted you guys to give me songs. I find that my iTunes is only suited to my tastes, and I wanted more variety. So, here's my proposition: you submit songs to me via PM, including the song name and artist, and anything you want the oneshot to include. If there are no requirements, I will take liberty with the story details myself. This song can be from anywhere, as long as it has words. If it's something like KPop or from Vocaloid, I request that you give me a song that I can find a translation and an audio clip of. I want all kinds of songs: Fall Out Boy, Paramore, Lady Gaga, Taio Cruz, Hannah Montana, Cascada, Bass Hunter, We the Kings, only to name a few of the many many songs out there. It doesn't have to be romance, it can be angsty or a party song, whatever you want. I want to try challenging myself and my imagination.

Finally, thank you all so much for your reviews. I'm actually kinda amazed that so many of you have favorited or follow my story, and even me! I didn't expect anyone to follow me, haha. So thanks to all!

So, with that all out of the way, please keep reading, and enjoy!

A/N 2: I have edited this chapter because I suddenly remembered something and I felt really really guilty and it wouldn't stop bothering me and I'm sorry if you get a notification for this but I had to change something in this chapter and yeah...this is why I really need to reread my works.

XxX

"Ne, ne, you should draw something," Kyoko said, hanging off of Tsuna's desk lamp and conjuring sakura pedals that drifted around the room. Kyoya shot her an annoyed look when a pink pedal blew too close to his face from his position on the bed, but he merely slid his eyes to Tsuna and closed his again. Everyone knew that he wouldn't get any sleep done, but they let him be anyways.

"I'd be EXTREMELY interested in what else you can draw! Hey, draw the scenery outside today!" Ryohei exclaimed, pointing a bandaged finger to the rather ominous clouds outside.

"I will bite you to death if you do, herbivore. Do not draw anything unnecessary," Kyoya snapped from the bed, rolling onto his side and turning a steely eye onto a terrified Tsuna.

"He hasn't drawn in forever because he's scared of _you_, Kyoya! Come on, let him let out his creativity! I'm sure there aren't that many gods that are around in the area and relate to clouds, anyways," Kyoko placated, looking outside. "Well, other than Kuraokami and Raijin, but last I heard, they were all the way in Hokkaido. That's a ways from here, they won't drop down for a visit."

Kyoya only frowned, and if Tsuna had any more courage, he'd call the pout the war god was sporting rather cute. However, he had a healthy dose of self-preservation, and he didn't voice any such thoughts.

There was a knock on the door, and Enma stuck his head in. He surveyed the multiple gods hanging around before focusing on Tsuna. "Hey, Tsuna-kun, I'm about to start dinner. Did you want anything in particular?"

Tsuna sighed and stood. He wasn't going to get anything done, especially with Kyoko's and Ryohei's prodding. The two goddesses had got along like a house catching fire, and Ryohei had claimed that Kyoko was her adopted little sister anyways at Tsuna's surprised look.

Well, it made sense that all the gods knew each other anyways.

"I'm not getting anything done. I'll help with whatever you feel like cooking, Enma," he responded, smiling as he made his way to the common room.

Kyoko and Ryohei followed along, while Kyoya huffed and rolled over again, determined to get some sleep now that the herbivores were gone.

As Tsuna settled at the common room table, Byakuran entered, yawning with his book back slung over one shoulder. He brightened at seeing Tsuna and sang, "Hey, Tsu-kun!"

"Byakuran-san," Tsuna greeted. Enma was studying the contents of the refrigerator.

"What's for dinner?" the white-haired male asked, sitting next to Tsuna.

Enma frowned. "I really don't feel like making anything tonight…" he admitted, closing the fridge with a soft thud.

"Is Xanxus joining us tonight?" Byakuran asked, swatting aside a playful Ryohei that was trying to compare her own hair color with his. His cheerful grin slipped a little and he made a new sport of trying to catch the dawn goddess. Ryohei only laughed boisterously and played the new game she'd found herself in.

"No, he's got…business," Enma said slowly, glancing at the only mortal in their presence. Even if Tsuna knew of their true identities, they couldn't just reveal the affairs of gods and creatures to him.

"Then let's get take-out. What do you think?" Tsuna asked. He walked over to the fridge and studied the numerous take-out menus that were stuck to it with plastic, colorful magnets.

"Let's get pizza. Pizza!" Ryohei said excitedly, buzzing around an increasingly agitated and annoyed Byakuran. With a final slap, Byakuran stood and sauntered over to Tsuna. Tsuna chuckled at the look Byakuran had, like a fox forced to suffer from the inescapable rain or a particularly annoying insect. Perhaps the latter was actually true, Tsuna mused.

"Oh, let's get sausage! And beef! I think Kyoya likes hamburger steak, that could be a thing! And…" Kyoko blabbered to a tolerant Enma, who sighed and jotted down the requests.

It seemed that, although still annoyed, the creatures of Tsuna's dorm were slowly accepting the presences of the gods. Kyoya was dismissive and tended to avoid everyone but Tsuna, so his antagonistic nature didn't bother the residents much. Kyoko was more like a younger, happy sister, and Ryohei was almost like an over-eager puppy in the form of a human with a very large bust. Xanxus still shot them angry looks, but at Tsuna's slightly pleading look, he backed down and mulishly ignored them. Byakuran made snide remarks now and then, and though he did try to get rid of the gods, the attempts were no longer as drastic as they had first been (Tsuna remembered a particularly cruel, if amusing, sight of cut up sakura branches and withered pedals scattered around the common room after he'd returned; Byakuran had a sadistic grin that quickly morphed into innocent when Tsuna pinned him with a look, and Kyoko, though saddened by the sight, glared at him and retaliated later that day with a stuffed fox stabbed through its fluffy body with a knife; Tsuna didn't know Kyoko had it in her). Enma bore everything with tolerance, polite to the gods but not going out of his way to interact with them.

Everybody was fine with that, though Tsuna dreaded the thought of anything else supernatural turning up in his dorm. He liked his peace, thank you very much.

After Enma ordered the pizza, everyone settled around the common room, unwilling to do anything productive.

"Let's do origami!" Kyoko suddenly said, grinning when Ryohei cheered extremely.

Byakuran frowned at the idea, while Tsuna grinned. Origami had been a favorite pastime, when he was sick in bed and his mama would bring in paper to entertain him with. They'd always make cranes because his mama told him that if he made a thousand cranes, he would be granted a wish. They'd never finished making all of them, but it was a memory that Tsuna cherished.

He brought out a sheet and sat on the table, distributing them to the residents. Byakuran pulled one towards him and started fiddling with the paper, somewhat bewildered at what he was supposed to do with it. Enma also pulled one over and looked over to Tsuna for directions.

The brunet laughed and demonstrated how to fold a crane. He tried to hold in his chuckle at Byakuran's rather messy result and shared a smile with Enma when he made a decent one. Kyoko and Ryohei were engaged in a folding competition to see who could make the most cranes.

At the scene before him, Tsuna had an idea.

"Let's make something that all of us can make together," he suggested. The idea of making something with all of his friends, of forming a special bond with them, one he'd never had as a middle or high school student, brought a yearning to his heart. He wanted to create something close with his friends, something that would manifest physically.

"What would that be?" Enma asked.

"Well…" Tsuna started before taking a strip of paper. Tearing it carefully and folding the edges, he produced a triangle. "If you make a ton of these, you can make a dragon!"

"Oh, that's an EXTREMELY good idea, Sawada! Kyoko, I challenge you to see who can make the most!" Ryohei exclaimed loudly before Kyoko agreed with tolerant amusement.

Byakuran glanced at the clock, as if wishing the pizza would arrive sooner, before seeing Tsuna's bright expression and giving in.

Byakuran had been pulled into the competition with Ryohei, spurred by taunts and insults before the white-haired male had declared that kitsune could defeat any god in the art of paper folding. The two plunged into a fierce race, and Kyoko giggled before floating over to Enma and watching him fold paper. Enma glanced at her and sighed, but he didn't do anything when the sakura goddess settled on his shoulder with her own sheet of paper and began folding. Even Kyoya had left his hiding, scoffing at the childish activities going on in the common room before imperiously settling on Tsuna's hair and watching the proceedings with a lazy eye.

The pile of triangles was enormous at the end of five minutes.

They were all different sizes and shapes, some better looking than others, but Tsuna chose indiscriminately as he stuck one triangle into another triangle, one after another, one after another, before he'd formed a large chain of triangles. Using a pen, he drew two little eyes and a mouth on the first triangle and stuck a triangle that he'd cut the ends of to look like a tail into the end.

"That looks nothing like a dragon," Kyoya said bluntly.

"But we made it all together, and that's what counts, right?" Tsuna asked, hoping that Byakuran and Enma would be at least a little more receptive of the gods after this.

"I guess we did," Enma said hesitantly, turning his head slightly toward Kyoko when she giggled happily.

And suddenly, there was a strong wind, blowing away loose scraps of paper and making the dragon come apart. Tsuna held his hand up to his face, squinting his eyes against the sudden onslaught.

The wind stopped as abruptly as it started, and there, floating in front of Tsuna, was a small dragon.

It was completely white, with fur that extended down its spine and a long, sinuous body. Four short legs ended with wickedly sharp claws, and equally sharp eyes looked back at Tsuna. It looked at Tsuna before the dragon's mouth sudden curled into a grin (which might have been friendly, but Tsuna thought it looked rather threatening). He glanced around and spotted Kyoya, with his tonfas drawn and scowling fiercely, Kyoko who had grinned, and Ryohei, who had jumped at the sight of the new arrival.

"So this is where you have all been. The other gods were worried you'd all been flown off course or something, you know," the dragon said matter of factly before white flurries spun around his form. In its place, suddenly, was a grinning man with black hair and friendly eyes.

Kyoya snorted. "Idiot herbivore. What are you doing here? You're supposed to be in Hokkaido."

"Well, you're supposed to be out too, but you're not, are you?" the new arrival retorted in good humor, though his words seemed to slice. At Tsuna's expression, the man's grin widened and he said cheerfully, "Hey, I'm Kuraokami, God of Rain and Snow! I love baseball, but it's hard to play that because it always gets all cloudy and rainy when I'm around, so I don't get the chance much. You're Tsuna, right? Haha, nice to meet you!"

Tsuna merely groaned and buried his head in his hands, yelping when Kyoya whacked his head for the disturbance of his seat. Byakuran and Enma idly wondered how many gods would decide to pop by before Tsuna god fed up. Most probably every single one, and even then, Tsuna would have room for more, they thought sullenly.

"Kyoya," Tsuna whined pathetically, clutching his head.

"Herbivore," the little god responded boredly, though his eyes were sharp. He stared at the newly arrived god, Kuraokami. "You know where we are now. Leave."

Kuraokami scratched his head, and when he responded, his smile cut like a finely honed blade, and his eyes burned with accusation. "You should leave as well. All of you. We have jobs as well as a mission. Staying here won't solve anything."

Enma and Byakuran exchanged glances. A mission? How interesting.

"We have been searching," Kyoko defended, frowning.

"And how many times have you searched this small area? With the amount of time you have been missing, _Konohana Sakuya-hime_, you should have searched this area with a fine toothed comb several times already, yet you are still here," the god of rain responded, quick as a sparrow and with the bite of a dog. "Even if you needed to rest, you only need a night of rest in quality hair, which this _boy _has plenty of."

Kyoko winced and withdrew, hiding behind an uncharacteristically silent Ryohei.

Tsuna himself felt bad. Were they staying for him? Did his desire to keep them around somehow chain them to him? He felt guilt rise like thick molasses, clogging his brain. They were abandoning a mission and a very important task, if Kuraokami's tone was to go by.

"You should all go, you know. He's right, if you have something to do, you don't have to stay here to keep me company," Tsuna mumbled.

Kyoko frowned but said nothing, and Ryohei stayed silent.

"We are not leaving because this herbivore says so," Kyoya said dangerously, lips curled in a sneer. "We are here of our own free will, Tsunayoshi, and you cannot tell us what to do."

He flipped off of his perch and floated down to meet Tsuna eye to eye. They stared at each other, Tsuna disbelieving and guilty, Kyoya's impassive.

There was a sharp pain in Tsuna's nose.

"Ow!"

Kyoya withdrew his tonfa and turned around to face the newcomer.

"We want to be here."

Tsuna was stunned. They _wanted _to be here, by _him_? They enjoyed his company?

Byakuran snorted and grabbed Tsuna's arm, pulling him into his warm embrace. Enma stood and flanked Tsuna's other side, red eyes narrowed.

"We don't need you meddling gods here. We will take care of Tsuna. You can attend to your _duties_," Byakuran smiled, full of teeth and dripping with possession.

"_Herbivore, return Tsunayoshi this instant._"

"You have a mission, don't you? Leave us," Enma intoned, arm coming to rest of a startled and incredibly confused Tsuna.

"I will _bite you to death_."

"Kyoya."

Everybody turned to the speaker. It was, surprisingly, Ryohei.

The dawn goddess raised her chin, and when she spoke, her words were of steel.

"Kuraokami is right, we have been abandoning our duties. Kyoko, when was the last time you ventured out to let the flowers bloom? Kyoya, have you been visiting your shrines and protecting all who pray there? I know that I have also let the sun rise late several times. It is unbecoming of gods."

Kyoya looked like he was about to argue, but Ryohei cut in and continued.

"I am Ame-no-Uzume, the goddess of dawn. As Amaterasu is not present to command you, the responsibility falls to me. You will listen carefully and will not argue.

"We may continue living with Sawada if we wish. It is, frankly, something I am unwilling to give up. However, we will continue our search, and we will attend to our duties. Anyone who cannot handle their responsibilities will be pulled from this mission, and I _will _replace you with another."

Her commands were as relentless as dawn, and all could see the imperious figure who had drawn Amaterasu out of her hiding. She was, in her own right, powerful, and none dared disobey her.

Kyoya snarled and hurtled out the window, shattering glass as he left. Kyoko meekly nodded and flew into Tsuna's hair, seeking sanctuary, and Ryohei stared down Kuraokami.

"Does this satisfy you, Kuraokami?"

The rain god's eyes softened, and he glanced at Tsuna.

"You are all very fond of him, for Kyoya to be willing to go to such lengths to stay with him and for you to become so serious," he observed, tilting his head at Tsuna. He smiled, and lifted his head in acknowledgement. He grinned. "I guess I should try this out too! Haha, guess I'll be living with Tsuna from now on!"

The god's mood change was abrupt enough to give Tsuna whiplash.

Ryohei's commanding presence slid away like water, and she laughed brightly. "Alright, Tsuna, it looks like we're all EXTREMELY living with you now!"

And with that, the last two gods disappeared into Tsuna's now very crowded hair. Not that he could tell, honestly, he didn't know how they even rested in there.

There was complete silence barring the wind that came through the window hole.

"Well, that was enlightening. What's the mission, I wonder?" Byakuran mused, arm still wrapped tightly around Tsuna.

"I don't think we'll know anytime soon. We should clean up and do something about that window though," Enma responded, staring impassively at the now effectively messy common room. The kitsune and inugami glanced at each other before shaking their heads and leaving for bed.

And then Tsuna was left, still wondering exactly what had happened, and promising himself that if one more god showed up, he'd turn him away. Just as he climbed into bed a short while later, he heard the common room door open and close.

"OI, TRASH, WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED HERE?"

And the poor pizza delivery man was left outside the dorm, waiting impatiently with his cheese and sausage pizza.

XxX

Tensions ran high the next day. When Ryohei woke Tsuna to watch the sunrise, Kuraokami was already awake, trying to open the window. The sight of a tiny man trying to open it would have been amusing if Kuraokami hadn't shot a condescending look at Tsuna and raised an eyebrow at Ryohei.

"I'm glad at least you didn't forget your duties to raise the sun every morning, Ryohei," he said shortly. He turned his gaze back at the window before, with a strong shove, raised it and slipped outside. "I'll be searching for her. I hope you will too."

He left.

Tsuna watched Ryohei's torn expression, usually so cheerful when she watched the sun rise. She sighed and sat sullenly as Tsuna watched the first hints of pink appear in the dark sky.

"He's right. We really should be looking for her."

"Who are you looking for?" Tsuna asked quietly. He felt a stirring in his hair before Kyoya dropped beside the goddess of dawn.

"None of your business, herbivore," the war god said shortly. Tsuna frowned.

"Well, if your mission is as important as Kuraokami-san said, then you really should be looking for her. You can't keep hanging around me. I'm sure there are lots of duties you guys need to do, and…" Tsuna trailed off, sadly looking away. He didn't want them to leave. He really didn't.

"Silly Tsuna, we aren't going to leave you!" Kyoko said brightly from atop his head suddenly. It looked like everybody had woken up at an ungodly hour with him. "Remember what nee-chan said last night? We'll stay with you, but we'll go looking too!"

"Hn," Kyoya grunted before hopping onto the windowsill. "Don't get into too much trouble."

And with that warning that made Tsuna feel warm with affection (it was almost as if Kyoya was _worried _for him!), the god darted outside and vanished.

"We need to go too. I'll see you tonight!" Kyoko said cheerily, dragging a Ryohei with her. Ryohei laughed uproariously.

"I'm going to go EXTREMELY looking now! See you tonight, Sawada!"

And with that, Tsuna was alone again. He was already yearning for that night.

XxX

That day, during lunch, Tsuna felt unbearably lonely. There wasn't anyone chatting his ear off or making death threats at him. It was saddening.

His mind wandered with his hand, which held a pencil and was doodling on his sketchpad. His hand flowed across the paper, following his thoughts. There was really no image but a design, fluid as water and elegant as poetry.

They had a duty, Tsuna firmly reminded himself. He couldn't control them. He is hair was literally a hotel for them, albeit a very luxurious five star hotel if their words were to be believed, and they talked to him because they lived with him. They were free to leave, and he really shouldn't be feeling sorry for himself.

He drew his hand across the page, the lines mirroring his emotion. Abstract lines flew from his hands, and he shaded and sketched, movements swift and steady.

"I never knew anybody could actually draw my element. Not bad, Dame-Tsuna."

Tsuna screamed, startling several other students who had decided to enjoy the sun and eat out in the courtyard today. They shot him quizzical and strange looks, and he sheepishly smiled back before focusing on his drawing. That voice…

"How pathetic, Dame-Tsuna. You need to work on your awareness to your surroundings," the voice snickered again, and Tsuna's head shot up to stare straight into beady black eyes. There was a small woman dressed impeccably in a black suit and fedora that had an yellow band on it. She was slouching in the air, long hair flowing in the subtle wind. There were two hair strands that curled around the sides of her face like a spire.

"Who…oh my god, not another one," Tsuna groaned, face landing in his hands.

"Another? Ah, right, the other gods have been living in your hair, haven't they," the small woman mused before yanking a brown tuft of hair harshly. Tsuna yelped again, and more people were staring at him strangely. If this kept up, people would be thinking he was crazy. "Your hair does seem quite nice, actually."

"I don't want any more gods living in my hair!" Tsuna whispered desperately. He would have wailed, but people were _still _staring at him.

"Well, theoretically, a person can fit all of the gods in their hair," the woman mused.

Tsuna decided to ignore her and stood, packing his things hurriedly. If he was going to talk, he wanted to do it in the privacy of his dorm, where others wouldn't see a strange person talking to air and getting beat up by an invisible force. This woman looked violent.

"Where are you going, Dame-Tsuna?" the woman asked, floating to his shoulder and sitting there imperiously, like she belonged there and had the right to use his body parts as a perch. Maybe she did, Tsuna thought bitterly.

"Back to the dorms," he said lowly. "I've only got a math lecture left today."

"And you're going," the goddess said abruptly.

"I am?" Tsuna asked confusedly, turning his head to the goddess.

"Dame-Tsuna, to get good grades, you can't skip class. And you have horrible grades."

"How do you know so much about me?" he asked, still walking towards the dorms. With a harsh tug, the woman yanked his hair and turned him back towards campus like a trainer leading her horse. He wasn't a pet, goddammit! "Fine, I'll go, stop tugging my hair!"

"Because, Dame-Tsuna, we gods know who everyone in the world is. There's rarely a person who escapes our eyes," the goddess replied. "I also followed you. Any human who spends so much time with the gods and creatures is a person of interest. You, Dame-Tsuna, are a person of interest."

God, did that mean there would be more people intruding on his life? He didn't say anything in return, reaching his lecture room early and plopping in a seat near the back.

"Sit further up, Dame-Tsuna, you aren't going to learn anything from back here."

"I learn fine!" Tsuna hissed back, glancing around nervously at the students who were already present.

"You won't pay attention. Sit in the middle, and don't doze off."

As lecture started, the goddess sat on his shoulder, piercing eyes studying the environment. Tsuna, surprisingly, did learn a bit more than he usually learned in lectures. He paid more attention (although that may have been because of the scary presence on his shoulder), and he took more notes instead of drawing or gazing out the window.

Lecture ended, and Tsuna made his way back. As he opened the door and the goddess scoffed at the mess that nobody had cleaned up after Kuraokami's arrival, Tsuna realized that he didn't feel so lonely anymore.

XxX

"Reborn-chan, hi!" Kyoko exclaimed when she returned, Ryohei in tow. Tsuna wondered who Reborn was before his eyes darted to the new goddess.

"Kyoko, good to see that you're still alive. Gods have been going missing one by one, and we were wondering if somebody had starting picking us off," the suit-clad goddess responded, polishing a small handheld gun. Tsuna nearly fainted at the sight of the dangerous weapon.

He suddenly realized that he had never gotten the name of the goddess.

"You're…?"

Reborn snorted and raised her face. She tilted her fedora back, smirked cockily, and cocked her gun. "I'm Reborn, one of the seven lucky gods and more commonly known as Benzaiten, Goddess of all things that flow: words, music, speech, you name it, I'm the goddess of it. I'm here to tutor you and make you a mortal worthy of the presence of gods. Nice to meet you."

And with that introduction, she aimed and fired a bullet straight at Tsuna's head. The little rubber bullet bounced off his forehead, and he clamped his hands to the sting on his skin in pain.

"Ow!" he whined, staring at his (self) appointed tutor through teary eyes. "That hurt!"

"And it'll hurt a lot more if you don't do your homework now, Dame-Tsuna. Get going," Reborn smirked, and cocked her gun again, readying to fire another shot.

Tsuna gaped at her, and when she twitched her gun at his backpack in a 'go on' gesture, he squealed in horror and promptly began starting his homework. Kyoko giggled, and Ryohei grinned with excitement. This was going to be EXTREMELY fun!

XxX

When everybody returned that night (including Xanxus, who had been disappearing more and more often these days), Tsuna really should have expected this. He really, really should have.

The moment Xanxus caught the sight of the new two gods, he flew into a rage. Tsuna only sighed and helped with Enma, who cast a resigned look at Reborn before shaking his head and beckoning Tsuna to cook the udon. Byakuran merely smirked and leaned back to watch the show.

"Who the fuck are you?!" Xanxus snarled, pointed at Kuraokami and Reborn. Reborn tilted her hat so that it shadowed her eyes, and Kuraokami threw him a cheery smile.

"So you're the reject of the tengu family, aren't you?"

Xanxus snarled again and drew out…two guns.

"Hiiiie, Xanxus-san, you can't! Put those away!" Tsuna immediately yelped, grabbing onto Xanxus's hand and trying to lower it. Unfortunately, his feeble arms were no match against Xanxus's more corded, muscled ones.

"Trash, let go. I'm going to murder this shitty god."

"Isn't that a crime?!" Tsuna wailed, tugging at the arm again. Xanxus remained in his stance, gun aimed steadily at Kuraokamii, whose eyes gained a steely sheen. He placed his hands on a katana that magically appeared on his back. "Xanxus-san, please? No fighting here."

Xanxus glanced down before mumbling beneath his breath and begrudgingly lowering his firearms. However, he held them cocked and ready.

"There are enough of them here already. If they mess with you, I'll murder them all."

And with that, Xanxus threw one last venomous look at the rain god and left. Tsuna let him go before turning a stern eye on the swordsman.

"That was very rude, Kuraokami-san," he reprimanded. Kuraokami snorted.

"What, and what he said wasn't?"

"You haven't been very nice to anyone since you got here," Kyoko agreed shyly before ducking her head.

"That's because nobody should even _be _here," the god of rain responded, sweeping his eyes through the room. "We've got duties, and even if you do go search in the daytime, you can only travel so far before the sun goes down and you return. Has searching for her become so burdensome and tiresome that you've stopped?"

Tsuna looked at the gleam in his eye and suddenly understood. This person, this very important person, was special to Kuraokami, and by the guilty and stricken looks on every god's face (except Kyoya's, he was either asleep or pretending to be), to them as well. They were looking for this person, and he was distracting them. He shook his head and looked up steadily.

"You have to go. I don't know who this person is, and I don't know why you're searching for her, but she's important to you. Please, staying here will only prolong the search, and the longer you wait, the further she gets, right?" he asked softly, drawing the eyes of everybody in the room.

"Thanks for backing me up, Tsuna! Even if you're good for nothing, at least you know what's the right thing to do, unlike these idiots," he said, and his words sliced so deep into Tsuna that he stepped back until his shoulder bumped into Enma.

Byakuran's friendly smile dropped, and in its place was a deadly frightening look. "At least he's not a meddlesome god. You can leave, you've only disturbed us and distracted Tsuna since you arrived," he sneered, standing. Suddenly, intangible strands of colors began flowing around his body, and his purple eyes glowed with resentment and malice.

"Do not threaten a god, _kitsune_," Kyoya rose to the challenge, bloodthirsty. His tonfa appeared in his hands, and he took a fighting stance.

"Stop it," Tsuna whispered, watching as the rift grew. He didn't…he didn't want this! He knew that the gods had a mission and they should just _leave_, but they weren't supposed to disagree! They were supposed to realize that whomever they were searching for was very important, more important than Tsuna.

Nobody paid any attention to Tsuna.

"Do not threaten a magical creatures, _god_," Enma imitated. His eyes had grown slitted, and his red hair was starting to grow down his neck slowly. "You may be stronger than us, but there are many more of us. You do not want an all-out war."

"Guys…" Tsuna said, a little louder. His eyes teared up, and he drew a shaky breath.

Reborn smirked, and she tapped her pistol against her leg. "I certainly doubt that."

"_Try me._"

Kuraokami drew his katana and whipped it casually through the air. "All I would have to do is freeze you, drown you, and chop you up into little pieces, and nobody would be in the way of our mission. Especially your little _human_."

"ENOUGH!"

Everybody snapped their eyes to a red-faced Tsuna. He looked fierce, determined, and furious. It was impressive, Reborn thought, eyeing the human speculatively before smiling a small smile. The boy had guts and a kind of temperament she approved of. He had potential. For what, Reborn couldn't say (which was quite rare for a goddess of words), but it was interesting. No wonder everybody loved this boy so much.

"Stop this! I don't want you fighting against one another. Especially not for me. I'm not worth it," Tsuna said with steel in his voice. Byakuran looked to protest, but Tsuna turned his gaze onto him, and the white haired man shut up. He thought he saw a flash of orange in the smaller man's eyes, but he couldn't be quite sure.

"You are gods, and whether you like it or not, you do have duties and a person to look for. I can't have you guys stop doing this for me. _Especially _not for me. I understand that you like sleeping in my hair, but you can find others, can't you?

"This person is important to you, even I can tell. I'm not the most observant person, but I _can _tell. So please, go look for this person. I don't need you to hang around me, I'm not so useless that I need even the gods looking after me. So please, don't fight, and go do your mission."

Silence. Kuraokamis eyebrows had risen, and a tear was silently coursing down her face. Even rambunctious Ryohei was gone, and in her place was the leader Ame-no-Uzume from before. Kyoya looked angry, bristling. Reborn was silent and observing, watching reactions of the gods and of the others.

"What the _fuck _is going on out here?" a snarled voice came, and Xanxus appeared in the hallways that led to the dorms. He scowled. He pointed a finger at Byakuran and Enma. "You. You trash are letting out your energy like leaking faucets. And _you_," the finger changed course to the gods, "are clearly not wanted here, and you don't want to be here either. Leave already!"

Reborn watched as Xanxus cast a concerned glance at Tsuna. She watched as Byakuran and Enma glanced at Tsuna, as if confirming that he was safe, before reigning in their auras. She saw Kyoko's concerned and stricken face, at Ryohei's 'leader' face, at Kyoya's threatening and displeased face. She saw Kuraokami's eyes take on a speculative and slightly respectful glint for daring to speak against beings that could crush his existence with a flick of a finger. And she observed herself, at the immediate reaction to protect this human, this man who had, despite the disturbance and oddity, accepted all of them without even thinking of rejecting them. She felt her need to teach this man, to show him the wonders of wonders of words and numbers, of music and life.

"Sawada, we do not like you for your hair," Ryohei finally said, voice low. "We like you for who you are, for your kindness and generosity. Please don't think that we're here for only your hair.

"However, you are also right," she said abruptly. Her eyes closed, and when she opened them, they saw why exactly Amaterasu had favored this goddess. "We are wasting valuable time here. We should be looking."

She closed her eyes again, as if bracing herself.

"We need to leave. Thank you for your hospitality."

And without another glance at Tsuna, she turned and flew out the window. Kyoko glanced between Tsuna and the woman who acted as her sister. She said, quietly, "I'm sorry, Tsuna-chan. I need to go too."

All the gods that was left was Kyoya, Kuraokami and Reborn, along with Tsuna, Byakuran, Enma, and Xanxus.

Kyoya snorted. "I'm not leaving, herbivore. I will continue looking, but you will _not _chain me. I follow my free will."

The god of rain only nodded. "I only expected so. Reborn?"

Reborn also shook her head. "I've looked everywhere in Japan, and I doubt that she would leave Japan. I will also go out to look, but I will return here." She raised her gun nonchalantly and polished it with a cloth that had appeared in her hand. "I follow myself. I am only an ally, not a part of the main house of gods."

Kuraokami looked disappointed. He turned his eyes onto Tsuna, who looked devastated. Gone was the strong man earlier, and in his stead was a man who had lost two very important people, despite only knowing them for a week or two.

"Tsuna, I may seem like the bad person in all of this, but please trust me when I say I didn't enjoy doing this. I respect you for what you've done," Kuraokami said, and Tsuna raised his eyes at the god. Kuraokami smiled, and suddenly, gone was all of his sharpness and edge. Kuraokami looked like somebody that Tsuna would have treasured dearly in another world, someone with a loyalty to those he loved. Only, his love and loyalty was not towards Tsuna, but this mysterious person that they were all looking for. "You're a strong guy, yeah? Maybe after we find her, we'll come visit."

The rain god turned to leave, but then he tossed over his shoulder with a genial smile, "My name's Takeshi, Tsuna. I'd like to get to know you after all of this is over and done with."

And with that, Takeshi and Kyoko disappeared in a swirl of water and flowers, respectively. Kyoya frowned.

"They're all herbivores."

"Why don't you two go?" Byakuran asked, pleased that so many had left, and yet, so displeased that Tsuna was so sad because of them. _If only they never came_, he thought viciously.

"I'm a goddess of the seven lucky gods. I follow myself," Reborn responded, tucking her gun into her shirt. It disappeared into some space, and not even the faint outline of a gun was shown in her suit coat.

Kyoya sneered, "I do not follow herbivores."

Enma sighed and pulled a shaking Tsuna close to himself. He rubbed the brunet's back comfortably, and he whispered, "Let's get you to bed, Tsuna. You'll feel better about all of this tomorrow morning."

Tsuna was left with a void in his chest, and he obeyed without comment. Xanxus and Byakuran glanced between each other before following Enma and Tsuna.

And finally, all who was left in the common room were Reborn and Kyoya.

"They're fools," Reborn said quietly. She looked after the direction that the four roommates had disappeared to. "They're all such fools."

"They're herbivores who deserve to be bitten to death. We've already searched Japan five times over. She's either not in Japan, or she's hiding under our noses. There's no point in searching," Kyoya responded. It was probably the most he'd ever said in one breath.

Reborn hummed in agreement. She shoved her hands in her pants pockets and floated towards Tsuna's room. "Have you lost hope?" she asked suddenly.

"Hope? I don't need hope," Kyoya said confidently. "She has to be here. She can't leave Japan. We'll find her."

"We'll find Amaterasu."

XxX

A/N: So, I'm sure there are tons of grammar errors. For some reason, writing Ryohei as a female was easy, but I kept writing Reborn as a male and kept using 'he'. It was kind of annoying. You'd think that thinking of Ryohei as female instead of Reborn as female would be harder, but no, Reborn just doesn't want to be a woman. Anyways. Thanks for reading! Please review, and don't hold back in correcting my grammar or any inconsistencies. I admit, I've only read through this once, and it was a very cursory read-through at that. I guess I should feel guilty for dishing such a half-assed chapter to you, but rereading my own works is never as exciting as rereading someone else's. Thanks, and keep a lookout for more!

A/N: Once again, I'm sorry for all of you who received another email/update/whatever thing, but I just realized that I never revealed Takeshi's identity before. I meant for him to only give his name when he somewhat respected Tsuna, which was only at the end of the chapter. So I called him Takeshi cuz I'm an idiot throughout the whole thing before remembering that I'd never actually named Kuraokami. So, sorry.

Best regards,

haplessgrapefrut


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Thanks for the reviews anyone! I'm honestly surprised I'm still writing this, since I have the attention span and dedication of a goldfish, but here I am! Some things I would like to clarify.

One, who Amaterasu is is a secret. I'm. Not. Telling~~~ (although I'm sure that many of you have the correct suspicions as to who she is)

Second, many have mentioned that Yamamoto Takeshi is bipolar, not in character, etc. I would like to point out my justification for my decision to make him like this. First, Reborn said in the manga that Takeshi was a 'natural born hitman'. I took this to mean that, if he's pressed, Takeshi is fully capable of being rough and tough and merciless. I also considered that Takeshi could be very, very serious in some instances, but otherwise, he's always cheerful. There's some level of bipolarness in the manga, I wanted to enhance it and to give a little bit of drama into the lives of my characters. I also love fanfiction where Takeshi is very protective of his friends, and I wanted that aspect in his life here too. Thus, he's fiercely protective of Amaterasu, and not Tsuna right now.

Ryohei, however, I didn't know what to do with. I made him Uzume, and I tried to incorporate his extreme personality into him, but I also needed him to be the leader, one because of the goddess he is, and two, because he's the oldest out of all of them in the manga. I needed someone to be the authority figure when Amaterasu is away, and I made it him.

On that note, I'd also like for you to tell me who you think is out of character. I'm still very inexperienced in portraying people and distinguishing them from one another and still a very amateur writer. If you think someone is OOC, please say so in the review and how you would suggest me make them more believable.

Thanks for the reviews, favorites, and follows, and on with the story!

XxX

The next morning, Tsuna woke at an ungodly hour, and he wondered what had disturbed him. Kyoya had disappeared into his hair, and Reborn had claimed that she didn't need any recuperation. She could take care of herself, thank you very much.

But Reborn wasn't the reason he woke up. In fact, the goddess herself looked asleep, sitting against the wall with her head tilted forward slightly and a strange bubble coming out of her nose. Her eyes, however, were eerily wide, blank and unseeing.

So what had woken him up?

As the first rays of sunrise peeked through his open window, he understood.

This was usually when Ryohei woke him up to watch the sunrise together.

XxX

Kyoya left after breakfast, but Reborn only shrugged when Tsuna asked why she was still here and answered.

"I'm here to draw out the potential I sense in you."

Tsuna wasn't sure exactly what Reborn was so interested in, but he let it go, secret relief washing over him. At least Reborn stayed, at least Reborn was here with him. Even if they'd only known each other for one day (disregarding how long she'd stalked him beforehand), there was some special bond that had grown unawares last night, when Reborn had patted his hair when he was falling asleep and sat against the wall, eyes watchful and trained on Tsuna. Reborn claimed hidden potential was what was making her stay, but Tsuna could see no such potential. He was slightly resentful that Reborn was feeling pity for him, but he would take what company he could get at this point.

Xanxus had taken a look at his unkempt, depressed appearance and ruffled his hair gruffly before stalking out the door. Byakuran had nearly smothered him, pushing bag upon bag of marshmallows onto him and claiming that marshmallows could solve every problem. Enma had simply smiled gently and told him to have a good day.

Tsuna wasn't quite sure what he did to deserve such good friends, but he had them, and he was eternally grateful for it.

Reborn's harsh teachings that day (_"What are you doing sitting in the back? Sit near front, where you can pay attention. Don't be an idiot, or I'll shoot you full of holes. Why are these two problems incorrect? Redo them in ten minutes, or I'll make you regret you woke up today."_) had managed to keep his mind off of the emptiness that was usually occupied by chatter, cheers, and the smell of cherry blossoms. Later that day, Tsuna realized that that had been Reborn's intention: to keep Tsuna so busy that he couldn't stay depressed, instead having to run around dodging small rubber bullets and working so hard that he'd managed to scrape a 75 on his next math test.

A week, two weeks passed in this manner, with Kyoya returning at night and exchanging gruff words with Reborn before diving into Tsuna's hair, and with Reborn being a Spartan tutor. Somehow, the tutor area had expanded to include his physical education, and every night, Tsuna was made to do crunches, push-ups, and laps around the building at gunpoint. It must have been a strange sight, seeing a panicking man running around and flinching at some invisible noise. To Reborn, the treatment was therapeutic.

Every night, Tsuna would be too exhausted, mentally and physically, to remember that two of his friends had left him, and every night, Reborn would sit with her back against the wall, watching.

XxX

"You're off the hook tonight, Dame-Tsuna, be grateful," Reborn said, sitting on Tsuna's shoulder and cleaning her gun.

"What? Why?" Tsuna asked suspiciously as he finished the essay due for English class the next day. He'd been working on it every night under Reborn's strict and commanding hand (gun), and he'd managed to churn out a relatively respectable essay without having to pull an all-nighter. Tsuna was somewhat proud of himself.

"I've got business to attend to. Kyoya'll be back in a bit, so don't worry, you won't have to miss my presence for long," the goddess smirked, flipping her gun and sliding it into her shirt. Where Reborn's gun and Kyoya's tonfas disappeared to and appeared from was a mystery.

"Okay. Be safe!" Tsuna called as Reborn flew out the window. Reborn paused and smirked, cocking her head.

"You shouldn't be the one telling me to be safe, Dame-Tsuna."

And with that, she left.

Tsuna sighed and leaned back in his chair, looking outside. Without any physical activities that night, he was free to do whatever he wanted, for once in a while. All of his dorm mates were out, claiming personal business. Tsuna took that to mean that they had to do something in their own worlds, with their own species.

He plopped his arm against his desk and startled when he heard a crashing noise. He peered down at what had dropped and saw his box of colored pencils.

As he picked them up, he felt a longing to draw again, to lose himself in colors. Tsuna hadn't had the time to draw lately, with Reborn's hounding as such. He picked up the pencils and took out his sketchpad. He gently laid his pencil on the paper and began sketching.

He wasn't sure what he was sketching yet, but as he did, he remembered. He remembered Kyoko's smile and smell, and Ryohei's cheery and energetic antics. He remembered, one day, when it'd been storming, and Ryohei had hidden in his hair, depressed at the lack of sun, and Kyoko had attempted to coax the energetic goddess out. He remembered what the day had been like: the gray clouds, the torrential downpour, and the lightning flashing through the sky.

He sketched the bright flashes, the glow of with light as it ran along the clouds, of eerie silhouettes of some weird shape, and if Tsuna stretched his imagination, he would have thought it looked like some guy with two devil horns on his head…

And with a flash of light and a loud crack of thunder, there, in front of him, was a god.

"Yo."

Tsuna had leapt out of his chair at the bright light and loud noise, but when he saw the god before him, he yelped and pointed an accusing finger at him.

"You're not supposed to be here!"

The god only raised his eyebrows and ran his hand through his unruly, curly hair.

"Yare yare, how unwelcoming," the god sighed before smiling. "I'm Raijin, God of Lightning, but you can call me Lambo."

Tsuna stood his ground and asked, "Why are you here? Shouldn't you and the other gods be out looking for someone?"

The god blinked his green eyes before chuckling. "So you know the others? How nice. I guess I should be, but see, I just traveled the whole length of Japan looking for her, and I don't think looking more will find her. You, though, you look like you have really nice hair. Mind if I pop in for a nap?"

"Yes!" Tsuna exclaimed, bewildered. What was so special about his hair? He got that it was unnaturally fluffy and nice and wonderful and all, but surely it didn't warrant so many gods' attentions? "You can't just not look! Isn't she important?"

Lambo's formerly cheery face dropped, and he looked at the human with serious eyes. "Very much, but right now I think we're all just wasting time." His face suddenly transformed again into something akin to a teenager, energetic and young. "But don't worry, I've found a great place to stay in the meantime, and you look kinda sad, don't you?"

Tsuna froze and lowered his head. Yes, he was sad, but he couldn't show it, he couldn't let others worry about him…

"Haha, don't worry, I'll keep you company. The other gods are way too serious. The old geezers can all look for her, I think they can spare me."

Lambo smiled reassuringly at Tsuna, who smiled back.

"Thanks, I guess then," Tsuna answered.

A comfortable silence descended.

"So, got any candy?"

XxX

Tsuna supposed that he should have put up with more of a fight when Lambo had arrived, but he'd been lonely, and the idea of someone else, of more people other than sarcastic and snarky Reborn and silent Kyoya, was appealing. When Kyoya returned that night, though, Tsuna mused that any fight he didn't put up was being put up by Kyoya, in a more physical sense.

"_Leave, cow herbivore_."

"Yare yare, why does everybody keep insisting that they call me a cow?"

"It might be because of your cow shirt," Tsuna supplied helpfully, smiling inwardly as his room exploded into activity. He missed this action and this atmosphere.

"It's my favorite shirt!"

"I'll bite you to death."

When zaps of lightning and crashes of thunder started erupting along with Kyoya's vicious tonfa strikes, Tsuna shook his head.

"Guys, I'm tired and want to sleep. Why don't you sleep too? It seems like you've had a rough day, Kyoya, and I'm sure Lambo wants to sleep for a bit too," Tsuna suggested, grinning without a care of self-preservation in the face of Kyoya's murderous look and Lambo's lightning that was zapping from two horns on his head.

"What a wonderful idea, Tsuna-nii-san!"

As Tsuna blushed at the suffix that Lambo had added to his name, Lambo gladly dived into his hair, creating static electricity. Kyoya shot him a disgusted look.

"I'm not sleeping in that mess tonight."

Tsuna patted his hair and winced as he both heard and felt the static racing along his scalp.

"Yeah," he agreed. He climbed into bed and glanced at the war god. He patted his pillow and smiled. "You can sleep here though, if you want."

Kyoya eyed him, frowning before flying over to the pillow and resting on it on his side.

"If you move around too much, herbivore, I'll bite you to death."

"Sure," Tsuna chuckled and slept, his heart much lighter than before.

XxX

"Haha, Reborn, I'll get you today!"

When Reborn returned the next morning, Lambo took one glimpse of her and promptly grabbed several bombs out of hammerspace (as Tsuna dubbed the mysterious dimensional rift where all weapons came and went to), lobbing them with dubious accuracy at the goddess. Reborn paid no attention to the bombs and flew around them, resulting in flashes of explosions in midair.

"Dame-Tsuna, hurry up, you'll be late for school."

Incense at the dismissal of his presence, Lambo frowned and pulled out a giant pink bazooka. Tsuna didn't know if he should have been alarmed or not.

"Haha, this'll catch your attention!"

Reborn ignored the lightning god and whacked Tsuna over the head to hurry him up. Tsuna glanced nervously between the goddess and her current source of irritation, Lambo. He was sure that, even though Reborn showed no outward signs of discontent, the lightning god being very annoying, even by Tsuna's standards.

Tsuna glanced at Reborn's sadistic eyes and the twitch her hand made towards her gun and decided to cut in for Lambo's sake. He had no doubts that Reborn would murder him without a second thought.

"Lambo, you know what I'm working on now?" he asked quickly, and Reborn turned a curious eye onto him. She looked amused that Tsuna had interfered for Lambo's sake.

"What?" the lightning god asked suddenly, dropping his firearms and looking at Tsuna with a hopeful expression.

"Well, I'm taking physics class, and I'm afraid I don't quite understand some concepts about electricity and current. You want to help?" he asked, lips quirking when Lambo brightened (literally, those lighting sparks would blind him one day) and grinned.

"Ha, yeah!"

Sometimes, Tsuna mused as Lambo proceeded to run electricity through his hair and spare pieces of metal wire Tsuna had sued for an art project long ago, the god was like a kid, and sometimes he was like a teenager. It was fun, watching the exchange from immature to rebellious and somewhat more mature. Almost like having a little brother.

"You spoil him," Reborn snorted. "You show him kindness, he's going to latch onto you like a lamprey and not let go."

"Yeah," Tsuna said fondly as Lambo's hands sparked, and he held them out to Tsuna, grinning like an excited child. "I know."

Reborn studied him with an unreadable look, and her own lips twitched upwards. "I can see why everyone is so fond of you."

Tsuna glanced at her, bewildered. "Sorry, what?"

"Nothing," Reborn commented before pulling out her gun and cocking it. Tsuna cried a little inside. "Now that you've got a live experiment on your hands, surely you can solve these questions faster and with more accuracy?"

Scratch that. Tsuna definitely was crying.

XxX

"Yo, baseball-idiot, everyone back?" a man asked, taking a puff from a cigarette. His silvery hair hung around his face, framing green eyes and a scowling expression.

Takeshi grinned in a carefree manner. "Yep! I got Ryohei and Kyoko to come back, but Kyoya stayed with the mortal."

The other god scoffed, folding his arms. "What mortal could keep the attention of that damn skylark?"

The rain god shrugged, though his eyes held an understanding. "I can see why they like the guy so much. He's understanding and accepting, with a lot of patience. He's really nice too, and you should have seen his hair!"

"Tch. Any mortal pales in comparison to Amaterasu-sama," the smoker announced devoutly.

Takeshi nodded. "Yeah. Amaterasu's definitely more important than anyone."

"As long as you get that, baseball-idiot. So where's that girl and turf-top?"

"They're looking along the coasts. They think that Amaterasu might be hiding near the ocean, since the sun always appears from east coast and sets in the west. It's kinda poetic, don't you think?" Takeshi laughed, slinging an arm around the other god.

"Get your arms off of me!" the silver haired god snapped, shrugging off the offending limb. "I don't care where they search, as long as they're looking."

When the arm was finally dislodged, Takeshi's face became somber. "Do you really think we'll find her, Hayato?"

"We'll definitely find her," Hayato said confidently, not a glimmer of doubt in his eyes.

"She left us because she wanted to live a mortal life and understand them, you know. We can't really drag her back before she's satisfied, she's stubborn," Takeshi said gently.

"Then I'll stay with her in the mortal world. She left because of us, so it's up to us to make it up to her and find her."

Takeshi tried to get his head around that logic. It was true, Amaterasu had left because she couldn't stand the gods' simple disregard for mortal life. Being gods made them jaded and hardened souls. They knew when natural disasters had to happen, when to let a land flourish and when to let it fall into despair. Amaterasu hadn't understood that. She'd claimed that all life was precious, that they had a responsibility as gods to guide mortals with a gentle hand and reprimand them when they went wrong, not punish them and curb their greed with disasters and wars.

Some hadn't agreed. Ryohei had claimed that one could not curb human greed. It grew with a glutinous greed, feeding off the land and producing steel structures behind. Hayato, for all of his devotion to Amaterasu, was also a close advisor to her, and he'd voiced his dissent. He'd said that all humans were inherently greedy, always looking for more, never satisfied with what they had.

Amaterasu had narrowed her orange eyes.

_"Then I'll just have to prove you all wrong."_

With that, she'd swept off and disappeared. Ryohei had been a flurry of worry, stripping clothes like her life depended on it and prancing all of Japan in an attempt to bring their leader back. Hayato had immediately panicked, and Takeshi was serious for a whole week, no hint of a teasing smile gracing his face. Kyoya had remained indifferent, as if he'd known that this was going to happen all along. Lambo had cried for his nee-san, and the moon gods had simply shrugged, grinned mysteriously, and disappeared in a swirl of purple.

And so, here they were, a good twenty something years later, still looking for their goddess. In panic, Kyoko had accidentally set off Mount Fuji, and Takeshi had deluged Japan in hopes of using his rain to discover where their beloved leader had gone.

They hadn't found her.

"Maybe we should just wait until she's ready, Hayato," Takeshi suggested, laying a hand on Hayato's tense shoulders. The silver-haired god snarled, but his shoulders slumped.

"It seems like that's the only choice we have left."

XxX

"Tsuna-nee-chan, you got any of those grape candies left?" Lambo asked, laying contentedly on Tsuna's increasingly frizzy hair. Not that anyone would have noticed, his hair had always had that unnatural stuck-up look, with tufts of hair sticking up in all directions.

"Sorry, Lambo, no," Tsuna said, hand gliding across paper. He'd chosen to sit outside that night, sketching the night scenery of Namimori. Lights twinkled underneath a still blank sky, prepared to be colored in with a deep blue and white pinpricks of light, along with a luminous moon.

Reborn had taken this opportunity to take care of some sort of business, along with Kyoya. Both had claimed duties, but Tsuna wasn't quite sure what Reborn's duty would be. Bringing luck to others? Tsuna couldn't really imagine that. Reborn would be taking luck away from others and antagonizing everyone, he chuckled before picking up a dark blue.

"Hey, Lambo, why are you still here?" Tsuna suddenly asked while in the process of sketching the full white moon above.

"I like you," the lightning god answered immediately, confused at the question. "Why else?"

"No, why don't you look for that person that everybody else is looking for? You and Kyoya and Reborn," he clarified, placing his pencil down and glancing up at Lambo, which was a hard feat since the god was perched in his hair.

The god was quiet for a bit before answering.

"Do you know who we're looking for?"

Tsuna mused before answering, "Someone really important, probably a goddess, but other than that, no."

"We're looking for Amaterasu."

Shocked silence pervaded the air. Tsuna sputtered, turning wide eyes vaguely upwards.

"You're looking for Amaterasu? The mother of all gods, the sun goddess, the one who's said to have created Japan itself?"

"The very one."

"How? How did you lose her?" Tsuna asked hesitantly, afraid that he was touching on a delicate subject.

"Amaterasu never did like the way we treated mortals."

"Huh?"

"Amaterasu left us because she wanted to experience mortal life. She was always really gentle, you know. She thought life was precious, and when some of the gods thought that humans were just made of greed, she said she'd prove us wrong. So she left, and now everybody's looking for her."

"So why aren't you looking?"

Lambo paused before saying softly, "Because I can accept her decision. She wanted to do this, to experience human life, so she left. She may be a mortal right now, she might be a dog. She could be anything under the sky right now, but I don't think we'll find her unless she wants to be found.

"Reborn and Kyoya, they understand. They know that this was her wish, so they aren't too enthusiastic about going out of their way to find her. The others though, they'd always loved her and worshipped her. They were really close to Amaterasu. They can't stand the thought of losing her, and they're really worried. That's why they're looking for her. Because they don't want her to leave."

"And you're not worried?" Tsuna asked, eyes sharp and intuition prickling in the back of his mind. "You guys who stay with me, you think she'll be fine?"

Lambo shook his head and leapt onto the ground. He twirled a hair strand before turning a smile on the human.

"We're worried, though Kyoya and Reborn wouldn't ever show that, but we believe in her and her strength. She'll be fine, and she'll come back to us."

Tsuna looked at the love in Lambo's eyes and saw how much he was devoted to the goddess.

"She must be lovely," he said quietly, picking up his pencil again and continuing to sketch.

"She is. She's beautiful, with these bright orange flames. She's gentle, smart, and forgiving. She's…she's everything that the previous Amaterasu goddesses weren't, and we're grateful."

"Previous goddesses?"

Lambo laughed. "You didn't think we're the original gods that rose with the first Amaterasu, did you?"

Tsuna blushed, ducking his head. "You're not?"

The lightning god shook his head. "Nah, we're actually the tenth generation. Each generation switches out every so often so that the old gods' views wouldn't interfere with the world's progress. Old guys tend to have old views, and new generations can understand the humans and their problems better. Out with the old, in with the new, you know."

Tsuna hummed thoughtfully. It made sense, really. Old gods couldn't keep up with the new world as well as newer gods could.

"Why're you telling me all of this? Nobody else ever really talked to me about this."

Lambo smiled and turned green, earnest eyes onto the human. He laughed gently and answered.

"Because I trust you, Tsuna. Because I like you, and because you've housed us all despite the trouble we give you. Because you're a kind soul, and I couldn't imagine a better person to stay with. I wish Amaterasu could have met you, she would've loved you."

Tsuna blushed bright red and tried to focus on the forming moon.

"Kufufu, too bad Tsuna won't be meeting any of you anymore."

Lambo suddenly jumped into action, horns appearing on his head and lightning streaking around him.

"Mukuro," he said wearily, eyes narrowed at a slow forming figure. The man who appeared had dark hair, almost blue or purple, with a blue eye and a red eye, both sparkling with mischief and hidden maliciousness. He held a trident in one hand and spun it slowly.

"Greetings, Tsunayoshi-kun. I'm one of the Gods of the Moon, Tsukuyomi, though you can call me Mukuro. I'll be taking you now," he chuckled, twirling his trident. A purple mist started covering the area.

"Mukuro, I don't know what you're up to now, but don't you dare hurt Tsuna," Lambo said loudly, although his voice held an undercurrent of fear. "I'll never forgive you, and the others wouldn't either."

"That's _exactly _why I'm here. Go to sleep, Lambo, I'll take _good _care of Tsunayoshi-kun," Mukuro said, sending mist that clogged Lambo's brain. Before he could do much, he passed out, slumping onto the grass.

"Lambo!" Tsuna exclaimed, eyes wide and fearful.

"If I were you, I'd be worrying about myself," a voice said by his ear, and the purple mist invaded his sense, turning the world black.

XxX

Tsuna woke, disoriented and dizzy. As he sat up, his head swirled and he braced an arm against the wall. He shook his head in an attempt to clear his thoughts and looked around.

He looked to be in a warehouse of sorts. He had been shoved in a corner, slumped uncomfortably against the wall.

"I see you've woken, Tsunayoshi-kun. Perfect," a somewhat familiar voice said, and Tsuna snapped his head towards the voice in alarm.

"You!" he nearly screeched, pressing himself against the wall. "Why are you doing this?" A pause. "And why are you big?!"

Mukuro was sitting on a wooden crate. As in, he was sitting, with his legs draped over the edge and eyes narrowed amusedly. As in, he was as tall as an adult man. As in, he was no longer a tiny god.

"Kufufu, how amusing. I'm sure I'll be greatly entertained," he purred, sliding off the crate and walking with long legs towards the crouched Tsuna. "Chrome!"

A woman, with long hair and an eye patch over one eye, appeared from a dark corner. She looked a lot like Mukuro, like a sister. She glanced at Tsuna before answering. "We've got him?"

"We've got him, and our long-awaited plan for revenge can begin," Mukuro chuckled. He crouched to Tsuna's eye level and smiled. "Do you know why you're here, Tsunayoshi-kun?"

_That's what I just asked!_ Tsuna thought hysterically, trapped in heterochromatic eyes. He shook his head, voice lodged in his throat.

Mukuro settled back onto his heels comfortably. Chrome plopped gracefully next to him and gazed at Tsuna, an unreadable emotion in her eyes.

"Kufufu, you see, the gods have wronged me. It started a very long time ago, when the first Tsukuyomi killed another goddess out of disgust and anger. He'd been sent to a feast as representation for Amaterasu. Tsukuyomi had loved and respected her. He'd have given up his life for her gladly. However, these emotions were obviously one-sided.

"The goddess's name was Uke Mochi. During the feast, the Uke Mochi had tried to feed Tsukuyomi food by regurgitating fish, animals, and rice. This was blatant disrespect towards not only Tsukuyomi, but also Amaterasu. Tsukuyomi could not accept this disrespect, and so he repaid Uke Mochi.

"Tsukuyomi killed her, and this angered Amaterasu greatly. It was a just repayment, if you ask me. You throw up food for me to eat, I'll kill you for disgracing and disrespecting me as well as Amaterasu. Amaterasu, however, she was angered that Tsukuyomi had committed such a crime. In disgust, she'd turned Tsukuyomi away, and so, the sun separated from the moon, and the two are now forever apart, never to rejoin again.

"You cannot understand the betrayal that Tsukuyomi felt then. He'd given his everything to her, he'd defended her honor, and yet, Amaterasu heartlessly turned him away. This separation from Amaterasu has been passed onto this generation, the tenth generation. And I have come to pay her back for her inconsideration. I will have my revenge by taking you, Tsunayoshi-kun."

Tsuna drew the connections quickly.

"So you're here to hurt me, so you'll hurt the gods, and in turn hurt Amaterasu."

"Kufufu, exactly."

"Don't you get lonely? Searching for revenge?"

Mukuro froze and narrowed his eyes. Anger and danger lurked behind those eyes, but when Chrome laid her hand on his arm, he relaxed slightly and smiled at the other half of the realm of the moon.

"I don't know what you mean, Tsunayoshi-kun. I have only known revenge, what else could I want for?"

Tsuna turned brown eyes fearlessly onto both gods of the moon, and Mukuro thought he saw a flash of orange fire through his eyes.

"You've been searching for revenge for so long. Don't you want companionship, for understanding now? If you explain to Amaterasu, I'm sure she'll understand."

"I tried that, and all I got for my efforts was separation and desertion!" Mukuro snarled, baring his teeth. Chrome tightened her hand, wariness in her eyes. The moon god breathed in and responded in a calmer tone, "I have Chrome-chan. She's all I need."

"Mukuro-sama," Chrome answered, trying to sooth his temper.

"You are the first god?"

Mukuro froze.

"Oya?"

"You said that all you got for your efforts was separation and desertion. You were the first god. You've never been replaced by another god, have you?" Tsuna asked gently, reaching a hand out to Mukuro's frozen one. He touched it gently, and asked, "You're the one that was betrayed so many years ago, weren't you?"

Mukuro's eyes searched Tsuna's, and he chuckled mirthlessly.

"Oya, you're so smart, Tsunayoshi-kun. Yes, I'm the reincarnation of every single Tsukuyomi there has ever been, and as long as Amaterasu never accepts me into her embrace again, I always will be the future gods. I'm eternal and immortal," he answered, drawing his hand back.

"You must get so lonely," Tsuna whispered.

Mukuro stood abruptly, turning and walking away. Chrome followed obediently, although when she glanced back, Tsuna saw something akin to grief in her eyes.

"It doesn't matter. I will have my revenge soon, and you will never meet your gods again," Mukuro sneered before disappearing into shadows.

Tsuna was left alone to ponder the sad life of an abandoned god.

XxX

A/N: And there you have it. Mukuro's sad sad story, and Tsuna's stuck in an unknown place. Thanks for reading, and please review! It feeds my ego. Once again, this is fresh off the press, and if you find any mistakes, feel free to tell me. I guess I'm looking for someone to proofread my things, but I don't exactly know how to go about doing that, so anyone who's willing to go through my chapters with a fine-toothed comb and tell me what doesn't make sense or what's wrong, please message me!

Best regards,

haplessgrapefrut


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Hey guys! Once again, thanks for all the reviews, favorites, and follows. They make my day, and seeing them appear in my email makes me smile a little more every day. You guys are awesome! A few things before we go on with the story:

First, there will be no pairings. Yes, there will be hints that others feel more for Tsuna than simple affection, but no relationship will outright form. I believe that all of the guardians love Tsuna in their own way, and due to the nature of this story, I don't think any one pair will fit. So essentially, you can consider it either a 27all pairing with no favoritism shown to any character, or a gen story.

Second is just an interesting fact. Most of these legends that you read are real legends. I wikipedia'd them, and although some details may be altered for the purposes of this story, they are essentially true legends. Tsukuyomi was separated from Amaterasu because of Uke Mochi. No, I do not have enough creativity to come up with something like that, no matter how highly you may think of me. :)

So, with that interesting tidbit out of the way, on with the story!

XxX

"-ash. Trash! Oi, cow trash, wake the fuck up!"

Lambo groaned and rolled over, waving a hand in the general direction of the voice interrupting his dreams.

"Five more min'tes," he slurred, burying his head in his arms to avoid the sun shining into his eyes.

"Get the fuck up, you little shit. Where's Tsuna?" a voice snarled, dark and growling.

Lambo turned the question over in his head sluggishly. Where was Tsuna-nii-chan? Tsuna…Tsuna…

Oh shit.

"Tsuna!" he exclaimed, bolting upright to see the giant face of an infuriated Xanxus.

"Yes, where is he?" Xanxus snapped, Byakuran and Enma flanking his sides.

"He…" Lambo trailed off, trying to gather his thoughts. They'd been talking about Amaterasu and her disappearance, and then they were talking to Mukuro, and then Mukuro had knocked him out, and then…

"Mukuro's got him!" he gasped, turning worried green eyes onto the fuming magical creatures.

"Mukuro? That moon god?" Byakuran asked in a deceptively pleasant tone. His purple eyes, however, were stormy and threatening.

"Yeah. I don't know where he took them!" Lambo wailed, pulling at his shirt fretfully.

"Trash, call the other gods," Xanxus demanded.

"I can't do that! I don't even know where they are right now!" the lightning god whined.

"Where who are?" a voice asked, and Lambo, for the first time in decades, turned to Reborn in relief.

"Mukuro's kidnapped Tsuna-nii-chan!" he wailed again, flying straight towards Reborn. She kicked him to the side before facing him dangerously.

"_What did you say, herbivore?_"

"Kyoya, calm down. We will have to search for him. Do you know where he usually hides?" Reborn asked calmly, although her clenched fist belied her worry.

"In his realm of illusions. Coward herbivore," Kyoya snarled and turned his steel eyes onto the magical beings. "Why did you let him out of your sight?"

"_Your _god was with him!" Enma exclaimed, anger overriding his usual genial manner.

"We all know we can't trust Lambo with shit," Reborn replied. She shook her head. "Fighting will do nothing. If we cannot find him, then we will have to call the others."

Xanxus snarled, and Byakuran looked murderously cheerful.

"If you cannot find him, I cannot guarantee that your lives will be curse free," Enma threatened, lifting a clawed hand from which black energy was spiraling around. Inugami were known for their black magic, after all.

"Do not threaten me, inugami," Kyoya snarled, pulling out his own tonfa.

"Enough," Reborn commanded, drawing the attention of all those present. "We will search when the moon rises again. We will not be able to find him when the sun is out. Should we not find him, we will have to involve Kyoko. Her sakura blossoms are also known to induce mild illusions, she should be able to sense him."

Xanxus snarled again, looking to lunge at Reborn before Byakuran snapped his arm out and grabbing, vice-like, onto his arm.

"We'll leave you to it, then, but you better be quick. I don't like to be left waiting," Byakuran said, mouth full of teeth and malice. Reborn narrowed her eyes before nodding her head. "When he comes back, he better have not even a scratch on him, or you might have a rebellion of foxes on your hands."

"Be ready at sunset," she commanded Kyoya and Lambo. "We begin then."

XxX

Mukuro was sitting on the crate again, lazily polishing his trident. Chrome was sitting beside him demurely, reading a book.

And Tsuna was still on the floor, leaning against a wall and studying the two gods.

Mukuro was prideful, Tsuna realized. The moon god had been rejected, and so he would not lower his head to ask for forgiveness or beg for entrance back into Amaterasu's good graces. Lonely, Tsuna thought again, eyes softening. Silence swept through the room, and Tsuna couldn't stand it anymore. Even with Chrome, who didn't seem to speak much anyways, Mukuro didn't seem to like the silence, although he endured it with grace and pompousness.

"So why aren't you tiny?" Tsuna finally asked, trying to make small talk.

"Oya?" Mukuro turned his eerie eyes towards the mortal.

"Well, all the other gods are all small, like this large," Tsuna responded, indicating with his thumb and forefinger a small distance. "So why are you…human sized?"

Mukuro chuckled, and Chrome glanced at him before returning to her book.

"That, my dear Tsunayoshi-kun, is because we're in my realm right now," Mukuro said, sweeping his arms through the warehouse.

Tsuna's eyebrows rose, looking at the dilapidated state of the room.

"It might not seem much, but this room is made by my power. The moon holds strong powers of illusion, and I can make anything appear…" the moon god said, twirling his hand and conjuring a rose, "…or anything disappear."

And with a malicious grin, he swept his hand through the room. Suddenly, the floor beneath Tsuna opened wide and swallowed him.

Tsuna screamed in terror as he began to freefall through an endless abyss, the only source of light right above him. This…this was fear, real terror. He felt like he was drowning in black, in shadows. And suddenly, dozens of emotions swamped him. Grief, terror, depression, fear, anger, hatred, sadness, mourning, they all swept through him lightning quick, and Tsuna opened his mouth to scream in panic.

And then, as abruptly as he fell, he was back in the warehouse.

"Did you enjoy your trip, Tsunayoshi-kun?" Mukuro asked, standing up and twirling his trident again. "That is the power of the moon."

Tsuna gasped, tears leaking through his eyes and body shaking from the aftereffects.

"Is t-this how you feel, Mukuro-kun?" he asked shakily, raising his eyes towards the heterochromatic eyed god.

Mukuro's eyes narrowed, and sensing his bad mood, Chrome quickly stood and tugged at his arm. "Mukuro-sama."

Mukuro stood, and Chrome took that silent signal to back off again. His back was stiff, and his face a rigid mask.

"Always," Mukuro responded, cracking a self-deprecating smirk.

"Did you ever try to appeal to this generation's Amaterasu?" Tsuna asked.

Mukuro shrugged carelessly.

"Why should I? The first five that I tried to converse with, they all ignored me. They said I deserved it, so asking is useless," he answered flippantly.

"Lambo says that this generation's Amaterasu is really nice," Tsuna pressed, trying to get Mukuro to understand that there had to be hope, hope for him to escape his endless cycle of reincarnation and hope for him to feel the warmth of the sun again.

"Hah! That fool? They all worship her, but they don't care about those under them," Mukuro snorted, lips pulled over his teeth in an imitation of a grin. "They treat humans like dirt. They couldn't even care about lesser gods and magical creatures, what makes you think they would care for a fallen god?"

"They're not bad!" Tsuna insisted, standing for the first time in a while. Mukuro was significantly taller than him, he noticed idly. "Kyoko and Ryohei, they're very nice and understanding, and even if they can get carried away sometimes, they're great people. And Kyoya, even if he seems bloodthirsty, he's never actually hurt me, and Reborn may be completely crazy, but she's dedicated to helping others!"

Mukuro studied him. Tsuna fidgeted under the dual colored gaze, shuffling his feet after the outburst.

"I see that you share a close connection with them. Kufufu, perfect. They'll definitely feel it when I kill you," Mukuro hissed, drawing his trident and thrusting it forward. Tsuna felt the cold bite of metal and then the warm run of blood flowing down his cheek. Mukuro pulled the trident away, flicking it to rid it of blood before turning on his heel and walking away.

Chrome stood as well, but she did not leave.

"Chrome-chan?" Tsuna asked, pleading with the gentler goddess.

Chrome lowered her head.

"Mukuro-sama, he's been hurt too much to accept the embrace of arms that had pushed him away. H-he doesn't want that hope to be ripped away again. Can you understand that?" she asked softly, turning a doe eye onto Tsuna. Touched by the sorrow in her words, he nodded.

"Please do not bother Mukuro-sama with such things again. Even if what you say is true, only saying so will hurt him more, and I don't wish for that to happen. If there is one thing you can do for him, please do this," the goddess said before turning and following her other half.

Tsuna sagged against the wall.

Mukuro didn't want that hope ripped away again. Mukuro, scarred and hurt, didn't want to become close to someone, to trust someone before being betrayed. Tsuna could understand that.

But he wouldn't let that happen. Tsuna was well known for one thing among his friends, and that was his stubbornness and his refusal to see a hurt person stay hurt, captor or not.

XxX

Mukuro slinked out of the warehouse before walking through a wall of mist. The purple gas flowed around him, and when he stepped out, he was small again. He sighed, tension leaking out of his frame.

"Mukuro-sama…" Chrome said hesitantly, reaching out a hand to grab Mukuro's sleeve. "Do you think there might be hope?"

Mukuro rounded on her, anger filling his eyes.

"Hope? You think those gods will help us?" he spat, taking in Chrome's widened gaze and flinch. He forced himself to calm. "They are a self-centered lot. The day they help anyone will be the day their own survival is threatened."

"But Tsuna-san, h-he supported them. Tsuna-san doesn't seem like a bad person, Mukuro-sama," Chrome protested.

"Neither did Amaterasu, and look what she did," he answered bitterly. He turned and glided away. "Give me some time, Chrome-chan, please."

Chrome stood still, worried eye looking after him.

Mukuro's chest churned with emotions.

Tsunayoshi was a magnetic man, Mukuro could already tell. He had a gentle nature, always accepting and forgiving, but he was also brave with a resolve made of steel. Tsunayoshi had felt fear when subjected to Mukuro's illusions, but he still showed concern for Mukuro when the illusion ended. He had an intuition that was razor sharp, able to make connections and guesses where none should be made by any normal human. When the mortal had looked at Mukuro, the god felt like he was being analyzed, stripped layer by layer until the only thing left was…

He gripped his trident and clenched his teeth.

All that was left was, as Tsunayoshi had said, a frightened, lonely, bitter god.

Maybe, in some other life, Mukuro may have adored the mortal. Mukuro had almost felt like he could entrust his shattered soul to the human, but in this world, he could not. He would not. There was revenge to be had, and now, the only emotion had predominated his being was resentment.

The gods had fallen for Tsunayoshi. Mukuro would not.

He vowed it.

XxX

"So how are we supposed to get into Mukuro's realm?" Lambo asked, frowning as he watched the moon slowly appear in the sky. Reborn frowned and tuggd her fedora down, while Kyoya's eyes narrowed.

"Mukuro will be using somewhere accessible. He took Dame-Tsuna in a very obvious manner by knocking the idiot cow out, so he must want us to know that he took Dame-Tsuna. The only matter is finding the entrance to his realm," Reborn replied, tilting her head towards the moon.

Kyoya growled, fingers toying with his steel tonfa.

"I still don't know what we're looking for," Lambo complained, peering into the darkness. "And why did Mukuro take him anyways?"

"Revenge. You know his history, he wants to hurt the gods back. And since we've been spending so much time around Tsuna…" Reborn trailed off, feeling a spark of guilt in her chest before pushing it away. Tsuna had grown strong under her training, he had to survive.

"He won't hurt Dame-Tsuna until he knows we're either watching or aware that he's doing so," she said, eyes narrowing. "We have time, but we still better find him quickly. Split up, and if you find Mukuro or his realm, get us. _Do not go in alone._"

This last bit was directed at Kyoya, who bristled.

"You cannot command me, herbivore," he snarled, darting his head forwards into a missed slash with his tonfa against Reborn. Reborn tsked before leaping away.

"Don't you want to find Dame-Tsuna?" she asked. "Go."

Kyoya hesitated in following Reborn. He snarled again and whirled around, darting into the shadows.

"Lambo, you search the sky. We don't know if Mukuro made his entrance near the ground or up in the air. I'll try to follow his mist," the goddess commanded. Lambo snapped a salute before dashing up into the air.

Reborn sighed when she was alone, pinching the bridge of her nose. She'd probably need to get Kyoko, but Takeshi would not be happy.

XxX

Kyoya roughly broke through bushes that were in his way.

Who was that goddess wretch to command him? He was the great war god, and most importantly, he was the divine protector. But it was that fact that bothered him the most.

The divine protector, who couldn't even protect a mortal.

Kyoya gritted his teeth and slashed at another bush, leaving a clear trail behind him full of broken branches and mangled undergrowth.

He would find Tsuna. The human herbivore was annoying on best days and downright infuriating on bad ones, but the human herbivore was one of a few who did not fear him and his wrath. Tsuna had taken one good look at his dangerous eyes and snarling mouth, but he'd never cowered. He'd treated Kyoya as if the war god didn't have a bloody reputation trailing after him. There was blood on his hands, but Tsuna welcomed Kyoya back with open arms and a soft resting place every night.

And for that, Kyoya was indebted to him.

He would find the troublesome herbivore, and he would then bite the pineapple herbivore to death.

He wandered for a bit before coming upon a single sakura tree. He gazed upwards before scowling. He hated the stupid trees, and although he could tolerate their goddess, he despised sakura with a passion. They reminded him of illusions and deceit, cunning and slyness. They reminded him of backstabbers and those too afraid to fight head on.

And of course, right at the base of the tree was a dark hole. It was teeming with poisonous gas, and Kyoya would bet his tonfa that Mukuro, Chrome, and Tsunayoshi were in there.

He dived into the hole with reckless abandon, Reborn's words forgotten. His eyes narrowed as he tried to peer through the mist, and his tonfa swept through the air, attempting to clear it.

"Kufufu, so the first one arrives. Good to see you again, little skylark," a familiar and malicious voice welcomed, and out of the mist came the god of the moon, his other half by his side.

"Herbivore, where is Tsunayoshi?" Kyoya snarled, brandishing his tonfa.

"Oya? You mean the little mortal I picked up yesterday? He's perfectly fine, but it's you that you should be worried about more," Mukuro chuckled. He waved his hand, and illusions came over Kyoya. With an irritated slash, Kyoya attempted to clear the dark images that formed before him.

"Come, fight me, little skylark. I haven't fought you in a long while, have I?" Mukuro echoed all around Kyoya. Snakes leapt at him, and wolves snarled at his feet.

"Stop hiding, herbivore!" Kyoya snarled, tonfa lashing out and dispersing illusions one by one. "Your illusions are weak!"

Kyoya batted away fanged heads and kicked away sharp claws. He parried and dove, weaving through the illusions with the grace of one who knew how to fight and had experience and confidence in his form.

He turned, sensing the three-pronged weapon that attempted to puncture him.

Mukuro clashed with Kyoya, steel against steel. Sparks flew, and the two struggled against each other in a deadlock.

"Kufufu, have you become weaker?" Mukuro antagonized, giving a push against the tonfa before breaking the deadlock and leaping away. Kyoya gave the moon god no time to rest and leapt after him, striking and dodging.

Kyoya's eyes narrowed.

"Well, I guess it doesn't matter. You've lost," Mukuro said carelessly as if Kyoya had responded. He directed his eyes over Kyoya's shoulder. "Good job Chrome-chan."

Kyoya's eyes widened when he sense mist rising over him and threatening to swallow him, conjured by the moon goddess. He growled and, in a last ditch attempt, struck forward with his tonfa. Mukuro, caught off guard, took a hit to the ribs and was knocked away into the mist that surrounded them.

Kyoya felt disappointment and anger at himself before his vision turned black.

XxX

Tsuna startled out of his doze. His bleary eyes looked around the room. What had woken him up?

Something prickled at his senses, and his head shot up to stare at the doorway of the warehouse room. The door opened, Mukuro entered, sweeping his eyes around the room before settling on Tsuna.

"We've brought you company, Tsunayoshi-kun! Aren't we such generous hosts?" he asked cheerfully before moving out of the doorway.

"Kyoya-kun!"

There, being dragged behind him, was a bound and gagged Kyoya. The war god glared daggers at Mukuro, who only shrugged and dragged him beside Tsuna.

"Don't worry, he won't hurt you, Tsunayoshi-kun," Mukuro reassured rather uselessly, since Tsuna was nearly positive Kyoya wouldn't touch a hair on his head with genuine malicious intent. "We've dosed him with a good helping of weakening mist, so he wouldn't be able to do much of anything other than move around a bit. Cheers!"

And without further fanfare, the moon god left, closing the door behind him.

"Kyoya-kun!" Tsuna exclaimed again, scrabbling over to the war god. He examined the ropes binding him before untying the gag around the god's mouth.

The god was now larger than Tsuna, the size he would have been if he was human. Tsuna noticed that his eyes were even scarier, slanted and determined. He was taller than Tsuna, but was well built and lean, covered in muscle.

"Tsunayoshi, release me at once," the god commanded when the cloth freed his mouth.

"I-I don't know how to undo this!" Tsuna said, distressed.

"Then find a way! The cowardly herbivore bound my power, I am…weak," Kyoya spat venomously.

After a good ten minutes of working and scrabbling at rough rope, Tsuna finally backed away with a newly freed and completely furious Kyoya and rope burns on his fingers.

"We need to find a way out of here!" Tsuna said, determination renewed with the appearance with a god. Kyoya grunted and smirked back.

"Of course."

And with that final answer, Kyoya proceeded to powerfully kick the door, which burst open.

"I thought you said your powers were weakened…" Tsuna said weakly at the display of strength.

"I am still able to do some things, herbivore. Come, we will find a way out of here."

As they were making their way out the door, Tsuna felt a tugging at the back of his mind. Suddenly, with a yelp of warning and a strong tug, he pulled back Kyoya just as a large dragon made of swirling mist and rough scales clamped its jaws over where Kyoya had just been standing. With an ominous snapping sound, the dragon turned purple eyes onto the two and stretched its lips, showing off very sharp teeth. Tsuna felt somewhat faint.

"I don't think leaving is such a good idea," he breathed.

Kyoya reluctantly agreed.

XxX

"Where's that damn war god?" Reborn growled, turning onto Lambo, who squeaked.

"How would I know?" Lambo answered, cowering in front of the furious goddess.

Reborn pinched the bridge of her nose in an attempt to stave off an impeding headache. Goddammit, what did Reborn tell him to do? To find them if he found a way to Mukuro. What did he do? Most probably rush straight into Mukuro's realm. Of course.

"We need to contact the other gods. Get Ryohei and Kyoko first, then we'll see if we can get Hayato and Takeshi to join us. Even if those two don't know Tsuna very well, Mukuro is a god, and as gods, it is our responsibility to clean up other gods' messes. Tell them to meet up here at nightfall. We will find Tsuna," Reborn commanded, and Lambo jumped to attention, nodding and popping out of existence with a flash of bright light.

_Tsuna, you better be fine, _Reborn thought, gazing at the disappearing moon as the sun rose. _If not…I don't think some of us could deal with the guilt._

XxX

Mukuro entered the warehouse room. He carelessly dodged a tonfa and ducked under the kick that followed before bringing out his trident and locking Kyoya into a stalemate.

"Oya, skylark, you're so excited to see me. I'm pleased," Mukuro taunted before tilting his head towards Chrome. Mist flowed out of Chrome's hands and surrounded Kyoya. As the mist dispersed, Kyoya was left on the ground, teeth gritted and eyes promising death. "We can't having you rebel, though, my cute war god. Kufufu, and how's our resident human?"

Tsuna remained silent, just staring at the moon gods. Chrome shifted uneasily at the piercing quality of those brown eyes, almost glowing with orange strength, and Mukuro grew weary of the silence.

"The lightning god's calling the other gods, you know. Soon they will find this place, and then the fun begins," Mukuro chuckled, fingering the point of his trident ominously. "Then we get to have fun, right, Chrome-chan?"

"And what makes you think you can defeat so many of us?" Kyoya sneered.

"Oya, did you forget the mist in your system, my dear skylark?" the moon god queried. "That mist, it's surrounding all of us. The moment they step into my realm, they will be slowly weakened. It shouldn't take too much of an effort to down weak gods, right? They'd be practically _mortal_."

Kyoya bristled, rising to his feet. The weakness that had brought him to his knees had lessened, but he was in no condition to fight.

"They'll probably strike tonight, don't you think? And then I'll have my revenge. Tsunayoshi-kun, you'll be the first to go. I think I'll peel back your skin, see what lies underneath, and then I'll open you up, take out organ by organ. Surely you wouldn't be able to survive that?" Mukuro asked cruelly, eyes narrowed in mirth. He pointed his trident at Tsuna, who had paled at the descriptions but still said nothing. "And of course, I guess I'll have to do something about those other gods. The sakura goddess has always annoyed me. Since they'll all be so weak, I could off her first. I could infect her with slow acting poison, kill her through unimaginable pain, and-"

"And then what will you do when your revenge is done, Mukuro? Will you bask in our blood? Will you rule the heavens alone?" Tsuna asked, tilting his head up in defiance. "You'll be alone again, you'll be abandoned again, you'll be in the exact same position as you are in now."

"Shut up!" Mukuro snarled, lunging. He kicked Tsuna into the wall and aimed his trident straight at Tsuna's throat. Tsuna was coughing in pain, eyes watering. "I could kill you so easily, do not try my patience!"

"You could find a place to belong, Mukuro, instead of finding comfort in your revenge. You're a stronger man than this. Revenge will only breed more loneliness," Tsuna said hoarsely, quietly.

Mukuro was left speechless. He always did seem to be when confronted with this human. Tsunayoshi was a useless human, a mere mortal, and yet, he never failed to pierce through Mukuro with his observations, to be able to lay Mukuro's soul bare to his own eyes.

"Kufufu, killing you right now would be too easily," he answered, drawing back. "I will refrain until everybody arrives. Enjoy the last moments of your life, Tsunayoshi-kun."

With that, he turned and left. He convinced himself that he was not fleeing from this human with eyes too old and words too understanding, that he was only waiting.

Mukuro wasn't sure he could convince himself well enough.

XxX

Night fell. Reborn was already waiting in the sky, underneath the bright full moon. She gazed at the white beauty, so far away, yet still shining down with gentle moonbeams.

She could understand Mukuro's vengeance. She would have been devastated and sought instant retribution, perhaps even more viciously than Mukuro was, against the sun goddess had she been pushed out of heaven's embrace.

She did not resent Mukuro for his actions. She understood. Reborn didn't deny the fact that she could be a vindictive bitch should she have anything to get truly angry over.

But that did not mean that she would let the moon god take Tsuna. She would get him back.

She sensed lightning energy appearing behind her, and she turned. She saw Lambo, but she also Kyoko and Ryohei's grave faces, and then she saw, Hayato and Takeshi. Takeshi looked somewhat embarrassed and guilty, and Hayato merely looked irritated.

"So we're cleaning up one of Mukuro's messes again, aren't we?" the silver haired god asked, lighting up a cigarette and slipping it between his lips.

"We're getting Tsuna-nii-chan back," Lambo replied firmly. Reborn could see slight accusation directed at Takeshi specifically.

The rain god frowned. "I understand that you blame me for making Ryohei and Kyoko leave him, but you cannot blame me for Mukuro," he retorted.

"But if you'd just let them _stay_, we could have protected him better!" Lambo replied, frustrated. Tears were springing to his eyes.

"Enough. There's nothing we can do about the past. We will search for Mukuro's lair, and then we will save Dame-Tsuna. We must assume Kyoya will keep him safe until we reach him." Reborn barked. "Kyoko, can you use your cherry blossoms to sense any discrepancies around the area? Any illusions?" Reborn asked.

Kyoko frowned but closed her eyes. Ryohei looked on, still silent.

"There's…there's mist down at the base of one sakura tree, in that direction, about 500 meters," the sakura goddess responded, pointing.

"Good. Mukuro will be expecting us since he made the place accessible in such an easy place. We will enter, and our mission is to subdue Mukuro as well as Chrome and to locate Kyoya and Tsuna. Do you understand?" Reborn commanded, turning his eyes onto Takeshi and Hayato. Takeshi merely nodded, and Hayato scowled but respected the goddess's commands.

And with that, the group headed towards Mukuro's realm.

XxX

"They're coming!" Chrome said urgently, dashing into the mist to Mukuro. "They're here. Reborn, as well as Kyoko, Ryohei, Hayato, Takeshi, and Lambo."

Mukuro chuckled and twirled his trident. Purple mist flowed around him, thickening and drowning the air in thick vapor. "I'm so honored. They've all come to see me, ne, Chrome-chan? We better give them a welcome that they will never forget, then."

They disappeared into the mist.

XxX

A/N: I did this while listening to the How To Train Your Dragon soundtrack. The soundtrack is so good. Who's seen the second one? What're your opinions? I personally liked the first one better. Sure, the second one had so many more epic moments and so many more feels (I'll admit, I did cry), but the flirting, the humor, the general hilarity was so overdone. And even if the ending was just so awesome (like really, holy shit, that was so cool), once again, I thought it was way overdone. I preferred the first movie, where the humor was Hiccup's snark and dry humor. I feel like Hiccup tried too hard in the second one. Anyways, it was still good (still AWESOME), and I would watch it again in a heartbeat if I didn't have to cough up $10 to do it again.

Anyways, thanks for reading, and please review!

Best regards,

haplessgrapefrut


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Thanks for the reviews! For once, I don't have a super long block of text as an author's note, so on with the story! I wrote this to, once again, the How To Train Your Dragon soundtrack (so good!). So much love for this movie.

Also, I'm posting two chapters in less than 24 hours. Don't expect this again from me for a very long time.

XxX

It was dark, Ryohei thought as she entered the thick mist. Her hands were clenched into bandaged fists, and she wished she had something to hold onto. Kyoko's hand had occupied one of her hands, but Ryohei had insisted on the sakura goddess to stay outside. She was not a warrior and had little experience in fighting, and Ryohei would not allow another unnecessary casualty in this futile struggle between the gods and Mukuro. She narrowed her eyes against the mist, ready to fly into combat the moment Mukuro or Chrome showed even one sign of their traitorous selves.

"We need to stick extremely close," she whispered in a too loud voice, and Lambo hushed her even more loudly.

"Shut up, you idiots," an incense female voice snapped. Reborn, Ryohei realized. It was way too dark to see much of anything right now, let alone her companions who were spread too far away from her.

"The bastard should be around here somewhere," another voice snarled, and with a rush of air, the area lit up. Fire glowed three feet away from her, and she could make out a faint outline. Hayato.

"Haha, you're such a pyromaniac!" Takeshi said cheerfully, although it held an undertone of tenseness.

"I could provide such a better light than octopus-head," Lambo sulked from behind Ryohei. She heard an irritated sigh and sympathized with Reborn. It was hard being the commanding figure of such a ragtag, unruly bunch of gods.

They wandered for too long, and as they trudged through darkness, Ryohei felt a heaviness in her limbs.

"Reborn," she said urgently, alarmed at her sapping strength.

"_Shit!_"

Suddenly, a large dragon, the width of four men and the length of twenty, swept in front of them. To the view of the small gods, the dragon could reach the sky and touch the moon. It had a sinuous body, writhing like a snake and just as powerful.

"So you've come, gods. Have you come looking for your precious human?" the dragon purred, rising above all of them. "Kufufu, he's waiting desperately for you, scared and lonesome. The skylark's hardly in a position to defend him. You need to hurry if you don't want to lose him."

And the dragon opened its large maw, and out of its mouth spewed purple gas, even thicker than the mist that was surrounding them.

Hayato cursed and blasted the mist with fireballs, arms stretched out and letting lose animate flames. The flames curled around the mist, eating away at the miasma and morphing into different felines. They hissed and spat, but they could not overcome the unrelenting wave of gas.

"The mist, it's EXTREMELY weakening us!" Ryohei shouted, fists shining with bright sunlight and punching forwards. Rays of blinding light shot towards the dragon, which screamed in fury and whipped a large tail towards the gods. She heard a cry of pain from Lambo and grit her teeth.

Takeshi drew his sword and flew over the gas, landing on the dragon's great horned head and stabbing downwards. The katana slid off of the scales, and he shouted, "The scales are too hard, we'll have to find a weak spot."

Shots rang out through the air, the bullets homing in on chinks in between scales and striking true. The dragon writhed in pain, short arms and legs scrabbling at air and raking at the gods. Out of its wounds came more mist, poisonous and debilitating.

"Aim for its weak spots. It has gaps in its armor on its stomach. Go for the eyes, blind it, and then we can kill it," Reborn commanded, reloading her gun and aiming again. Takeshi obliged, katana plunging into the eyes. The dragon wailed, twisting even more violently.

Hayato grunted, still preoccupied with trying to halt the gas. He was starting to sweat, not from the heat, but from exhaustion. He panted, "We will fall. Even if we do defeat the dragon, we can't stop the gas already in our systems."

And _dammit_, Reborn knew this, but what choice did they have? They did not know where the exit was, and they could not lie down and show their bellies to the dragon to be killed at its leisure. Yes, with each exhausted breath and pant, they drew in more poison, weakening themselves. There were only two options: fall to the mist, or fall to the dragon.

"We can't just stop, though. We have to save Tsuna-nii!" Lambo cried, zapping electricity from his horns and directing it towards the dragon.

Takeshi ran along the dragon's back, searching for a weak spot. As he scanned the seemingly endless scales, his eyes lighted upon a gap. As his eyes scanned the scales more, he realized that they formed a pattern. There were, in fact, many gaps and weak points in the dragon. It was just that the dragon moved so much the gaps disappeared and reappeared in split seconds.

"There!" he pointed, stabbing his katana.

Reborn understood, shooting with pinpoint precision at the gaps. Ryohei darted forwards and punched her fists at the scales, denting them and pulling them away to reveal the weak points.

And finally, with one last flash of light and hail of steel, the dragon snarled and fell. It opened its mouth and laughed.

"So you do not fall to me. Now fall to the mist."

And true to its word, blackness slowly overcame the exhausted, weakened gods.

XxX

Lambo awoke slowly, as if pulled from a dream. He groaned as a headache pounded at his head, and memories flooded his mind.

"Tsuna-nii!"

"Kufufu, shouldn't you worry about yourselves? But Tsunayoshi-kun will die first, so you might as well think of him first," a familiar voice chuckled, and Lambo's eyes landed on Mukuro, the size of a human, perched on a wooden crate. He then noticed Kyoya amongst the gods' midst, also bound and looking ready to rend the warehouse apart.

"You fucking bastard!" Hayato snarled, jerking forwards before landing on his side in pain. There were chains constricting their movements, and the mist had weakened them so much they could only sit and watch the proceedings.

"Oya, that's rude, isn't it, my dear Kagutsuchi? The God of Fire is indeed a hotheaded one, isn't he, Chrome-chan?" the moon god asked amusedly, turning to Chrome.

Chrome was standing beside Tsuna, whose wide eyes were trained on the restrained gods.

"Why did you come for me?" Tsuna asked. "I'm just a human, you can't be here! Mukuro will-"

"Do you think we care what he thinks, Dame-Tsuna?" Reborn snapped, testing her restraints. She could feel her power just beneath her skin, waiting to jump out, but the mist was dampening it.

"Well, you should, since he will die now," Mukuro commented, smile widening at the group.

"No!" Ryohei exclaimed, panicked.

Mukuro twirled his trident and struck Tsuna. A sharp point nicked Tsuna's arm and buried itself into the wall behind him, and Tsuna's breath hitched. However, his eyes remained on the group, now the size of humans.

"You're going to hurt them after you hurt me?" he asked, laying his hand on the trident.

Mukuro tilted his head appraisingly and pulled the trident out. His mouth quirked when Tsuna held steadfastly onto the weapon.

"Of course."

"Then I'm afraid you can't kill me," Tsuna responded, sliding forwards and punching out with a fist.

Mukuro huffed in surprise and retreated with his weapon, surprised.

"My, you pack quite a punch, don't you? And your speed is also very impressive. Have you had training?" Mukuro asked curiously, eyes flicking over to the gods and landing on Reborn. When Tsuna didn't answer, only sliding into a defensive posture that was amateurish and full of openings, Mukuro returned his gaze onto the human. "No matter. You're no match for a god."

Mukuro rushed at Tsuna, who tried to dodge and gained another slice through his skin as a result. Tsuna gritted his teeth as he scrambled around.

"Dame-Tsuna, behind you!" Reborn barked.

Tsuna turned just in time as Chrome rushed behind him, missing him by scant millimeters.

"Don't turn your back on your opponents," Mukuro hissed by Tsuna's ear, breath wafting over his skin. A pain exploded in his side, and Tsuna looked down to see a large gash, deep and wide, gouged into his flesh.

"Tsuna!" several alarmed voices exclaimed.

As Tsuna slumped against the wall (he was becoming quite familiar with it, he thought with dry humor), he clutched his bleeding wound and looked up into Mukuro's eyes. They were a swirl of blue and red, conflicted and resolute, despairing and excited.

"And now your life will end. I'm truly sorry for your sacrifice," Mukuro said. The trident came towards Tsuna, and Tsuna's hand snapped out, clutching at the spokes of the weapon. The tip grazed the inside of his wrist, but the trident stopped an inch from his throat.

"Mukuro, please," Tsuna pleaded, eyes turning up into Mukuro's. His grip tightened despite the blood loss, and he pressed forwards, leaning closer to the moon god although it also meant he leaned closer to the threatening point of the trident.

"Mukuro, I understand that you feel betrayed. I understand that you feel like you need to avenge yourself, to prove to the world that you are powerful in your own right and to show that you do not need company. Amaterasu's abandonment hurt you so much, and I can _see _that.

"But Mukuro, you're not alone. Chrome-chan's with you, isn't she? You may be the same god, but she's company. But she's not enough. Don't do this, Mukuro. _Don't do this, it'll only hurt you more_."

Mukuro was frozen, like so many times before when he confronted Tsuna, like he had been in the face of this surprising human.

"Who is with me then? The gods? Amaterasu? _You?" _he asked, lips curled in a mocking grin, although Tsuna could see the desolation and despair clawing out of his skin.

"Yes, me. I see you, Mukuro, and I can hear what you really want," Tsuna replied shakily. He could feel a coldness seeping over his fingers as they clutched at the trident, and he tried to ignore the fact that blood was pouring out of his wrist, his side, his every wound. "You need someone to accept you. I accept you, Mukuro, for all of your scars and faults, the blood on your hands and your ruthlessness. But I also want to accept your dedication that you had held for Amaterasu, and your love that you had for her. I want to show you that there's more to the world than one goddess, Mukuro.

"So please let me."

Mukuro's breath hitched, fingers spasming on his weapon. He searched the human's eyes.

"Will you?" he asked. He'd meant to make fun of the human, to tell him he was so so foolish to try to accept a god who protected himself with illusions. He wanted to inch his weapon just that one inch further, to pierce that throat and watch as the human died. He wanted to, but…

He saw hope. He so a resoluteness that he so rarely saw before, and he saw open acceptance. He felt warmth in those eyes, and he saw desperation, not for himself and his own safety, but for Mukuro. Desperation to show him that there was a place in Tsuna's arms, that even if Amaterasu had abandoned him, he could find it in a moartals.

The idea was so foolish, and yet Mukuro wanted to trust him. To trust one more time.

"And you will accept all of me, my murdering and underhanded ways?"

"And your loyalty and your dedication," Tsuna agreed, eyes growing lidded from exhaustion. He felt his knees weaken, and he toppled forwards into startled arms and a warm body.

XxX

"-fucking bastards, you're not coming anywhere near Tsuna again-"

"You're his roommates! Even if we weren't there, you should be watching after him too!"

"I don't get what this human's done for your loyalty."

"Haha, he's pretty cool for a mortal, you have to admit."

"Shut up, baseball-freak, nobody asked you!"

"Nobody asked you to be here. You should leave. Kitsune aren't known to be nice and fluffy when angered."

"Kufufu, I'm sure you're not much of a problem."

"And what is _he _doing here?!"

"Shut up, or I'll bite all of you to death."

Tsuna's awareness leaked into him slowly, light a sluggish river. He blearily opened his eyes and met the worried eyes of the first goddess he'd met.

"Tsuna-chan! You're awake!" Kyoko exclaimed, drawing the attention of everybody.

"Oh, you're finally EXTREMELY up!" Ryohei exclaimed, flying to look Tsuna in the eye, grinning cheerily. However, Tsuna could detect tiredness in her eyes.

"What...where…?" he asked dazedly, turning his head to notice that he was in his room. Gods were buzzing around the air, and his roommates were nose to nose with some of them, glaring and spitting.

"Tsuna, you're alright!" Byakuran practically wailed, throwing himself at Tsuna. The mortal felt his breath leave him as the heavy weight collided with his chest, and he winced as pain tugged at his side.

"Byakuran-kun, wait…" he wheezed, settling a hand on the mass of white hair huddled in his chest.

"We thought we were going to lose you. Fortunately, the gods are useful for something," Enma intoned, glaring slightly at said beings.

"At least we're useful. Where were you the night Tsuna was kidnapped?" Lambo retorted angrily, electricity arcing off of his skin agitatedly.

"You almost lost me?" Tsuna asked, alarmed and very frightened. Had he almost died? That was…a very frightening thought.

"Ryohei healed you, but you need to rest some more. A sun's gentle dawn rays can only do so much," Reborn answered, kicking Tsuna's head with no sympathy whatsoever.

"You're gonna hurt me before I hurt myself more!" Tsuna whined.

"Tch, what do you see in this whining guy?" a god Tsuna vaguely remembered as being referred to as Kagutsuchi scoffed.

"Kufufu, there's much more to him than meets the eye," another voice that Tsuna didn't really expect to be there said.

"Mukuro! Chrome-chan!" Tsuna exclaimed and turned his face to the two gods. They were a ways apart from everyone in their room, arms crossed and defensive. Tsuna saw wariness and a shield in their eyes, ready for rejection. Almost as if they had thought Tsuna had only said what he did to save his own skin and was going to reject them now that he was safe again, he realized sadly. He plastered on a reassuring smile. "I'm glad you're here and safe."

"Why would we be safe? I'm still planning on getting revenge, you know. Staying with you will provide me with that excellent opportunity," the moon god replied, and despite his words, his shoulders dropped in relief, and his defensive stance loosened.

"None of you trash are staying anywhere near Tsuna!" Xanxus snarled. Tsuna noticed his scars starting to spread across his face.

"Xanxus, it's fine, everything's fine now, isn't it?" Tsuna placated, resting his arms on Byakuran, who was still hugging him. He combed his fingers through the white hair reassuringly and shot a smile at Enma. Enma only frowned in dissatisfaction but said nothing.

"Like hell it's fine! If none of them even _came_…" he shouted.

"Xanxus! They're my friends as much as you guys are. I'm not going to push them away now," Tsuna said sharply. His eyes locked on with black, angry ones, and the two stared at each other, one resolute and the other indignant.

Xanxus huffed. "You're too soft, trash."

"And you think you're any better, herbivore?" Kyoya asked, breaking his silence in favor of antagonizing the creatures. It seemed to be one of his favorite pastimes since he came.

"_Say what, trash?"_

Reborn only sighed as squabbling erupted throughout the room again, and he shared an exasperated look with Kyoko, who only smiled gently.

"I'm happy everything is fine now," Kyoko said quietly to Reborn.

Reborn turned her eyes to Tsuna, who was trying to disentangle himself from Byakuran, who was clutching to him like an octopus. Mukuro was prodding the white head with a small trident, smirking when Byakuran swatted at the tiny god irritably before launching himself at the small nuisance. The two snapped back and forth.

"He's amazing," the sakura goddess said.

Reborn tilted her fedora and swept her eyes throughout the room before landing on Tsuna, who was watching everything with a fond smile on his face. He'd fought for gods. A tiny human had defended them and won. He had the strength and conviction of a leader as well as the acceptance and tolerance of the sky. It was amazing, the depths of his heart and its ability to _accept_.

"He really is," she agreed.

XxX

Hayato was the first to leave, commenting irritably that he did not see how the other gods could stand staying around such a weak mortal and to remember that they were still looking for Amaterasu. However, he'd glanced over at Tsuna and, at an elbow jab from Takeshi, mumbled, "I owe you for convincing the pineapple bastard to let us go. I'm Kagutsuchi, but you can call me Hayato." He disappeared in a flash of flame, red tinting his cheeks slightly.

Takeshi grinned at Tsuna and said cheerfully, "Tsuna, I've still got things to do, people to see, places to be, but do you mind if I crash in your hair sometime?"

Tsuna numbly shook his head, surprised at how quickly Takeshi had warmed up to him after their last, rather tense encounter.

Kyoya had snorted and dived into Tsuna's hair's sanctuary, but not before giving Mukuro one last glare and snarl. Kyoko smiled and patted Tsuna on the hand, warm and approving. Ryohei cheered and laughed, zipping through the air in exhilaration, while Lambo yelled at the stupid lawn-head to stop annoying Tsuna-nii-chan. Reborn rested against the wall, ever watchful. Mukuro and Chrome were sitting on Tsuna's bed, unsure whether they belonged. Tsuna reached over and grabbed the two in gentle hands and brought them to his lap, to which Mukuro chuckled.

"I didn't know you wanted me so close to you, Tsunayoshi-kun. I'll keep that in mind," he leered, and Chrome blushed bright red and stuttered out a "Boss".

It was peaceful, and Tsuna couldn't ask for anything else.

XxX

Xanxus stood in front of his grandfather, chin jutted out and eyes defiant.

"I have the potential, as well as half of the blood, of the royal tengu family. I have every right to challenge them to the seat of leader of the tengu clan," he declared haughtily.

Timoteo frowned. His eyes were grave, and his expression stern. "You are an illegitimate son, Xanxus, and even if you do participate, you will face much opposition both during the challenge and, should you win, during your reign. Being half-human and half-tengu will put you at a disadvantage combat wise as well as politically. Are you sure you wish to challenge Enrico to being heir of the tengu head?"

Xanxus snarled. "You've seen him. He's absolute trash, cowardly and unable to fuck himself out of a whore. He's not fit for tengu head."

"And you are?" Timoteo asked cuttingly, eyes narrowed.

"More than him," Xanxus replied quickly.

Grandfather and grandson stared at each other, and tension rose in the room. Timoteo could understand Xanxus's drive to prove his worth. Ever since he was a child, only a small crow with feathery black wings but human eyes and a human's fragility, he'd been bullied and neglected, cursed behind his back as the bastard son and sneered at by his own half-brothers. Timoteo had tried to bridge that gap and help Xanxus, but his efforts had not helped, and after Sawada Tsunayoshi's admonition, Timoteo realized that, even with his efforts, he'd never tried to actually understand his illegitimate grandson.

He felt like he had to give this willful child a chance.

"Very well. You will have to choose your combatants. You have two weeks to prepare before the challenges and battles begin. Choose wisely," he finally said, closing his eyes and hoping he wasn't sending his favorite grandson to death at the hands of his other grandsons.

"Who do you think you're talking to?" Xanxus sneered before whipping around and leaving the temple.

Timoteo sighed, weary. "Good luck," he whispered, his words carried away by the wind.

XxX

Tsuna flinched and ran for his life.

"You're too slow, Dame-Tsuna! Maybe if you'd had more endurance, you would have suffered from Mukuro less!" Reborn called sadistically, grinning while she shot bullets at Tsuna's feet. The human wailed. Reborn aimed and shot a rubber bullet right at the back of Tsuna's head. "If you've got energy to cry, I'm clearly not working you hard enough!"

Mukuro huffed. "Oya, don't pull me into this," he said, all the while fending off vicious attacks from Kyoya.

"Pay attention, herbivore!" the war god snarled, striking tonfa against trident. Sparks flew.

"It's EXTREMELY lively today, isn't it, Kyoko?" Ryohei asked, grinning and diving into the fight between Mukuro and Kyoya.

The sakura goddess only sighed and leaned against Lambo, who was napping in the shade of a tree. "You'd think Reborn would go softer on Tsuna. He's still healing, after all."

Lambo snorted. "What, that sadistic goddess? Yeah right!" He promptly squealed in terror as a bullet careened past him at way too close a distance.

"I can hear you, idiot cow."

Lambo squeaked.

Byakuran sighed, his homework spread over the grass and being held down by small rocks.

"I never got why people liked working outside. It's too bright," Byakuran complained, peering up at the blue sky and white clouds.

Enma shrugged, shielding his eyes and trying to look at his laptop screen. "It _is _too bright," he agreed. "But I guess Tsuna-kun enjoys being outside, so here we are." Both blatantly ignored the fact that Tsuna wasn't exactly willingly running laps around the dorm complex.

_We're so whipped_, Byakuran thought, but he didn't feel much resentment as he caught a paper trying to escape reflexively. "Reborn needs to stop training Tsuna so much and start tutoring him."

Enma shot him a surprised glance. "You're encouraging her now?" he asked, curious.

The kitsune shrugged carelessly and placed a heavier rock on the newly captured paper. "You can't deny it, she's improving his grades by leaps and bounds in ways that we were never able to. They're also not leaving no matter what we do," he said somewhat bitterly, but he shrugged it away. There was no danger right now, and even if there was, Byakuran could at least trust the gods to try to keep Tsuna safe.

Enma hummed in agreement before returning to his screen. A while passed, filled with the chirping of birds, the distance sound of cars, and the screams of terror that were emanating in the general direction of a certain human.

"Have you seen Xanxus lately?" Enma asked, finally giving up in his battle against the sun and shutting his laptop. "He hasn't been around as much."

"I heard that the tengu are about to announce the next heir," Byakuran replied, and the two exchanged a significant look.

"You think Xanxus will want to challenge the potential heirs and prove himself," Enma said.

"I don't think, I _know_. The bastard's been out to prove himself for as long as I've known him, and with this opportunity, he can. He's also charismatic as hell and has the resolve of a leader. He'd be a good head, despite his status as a half-blood," Byakuran murmured, lowering his voice to keep it from reaching the gods.

"Do you think he can?" the inugami asked.

Byakuran thought about the object of their discussion. Xanxus was, in no way, a weak being. He was strong, with the stubbornness of a bull and the viciousness of a viper. He could, no doubt, do whatever he set his mind to do.

But the problem was that he had the weakness of a human, no matter how strong he was. However, the other heir candidates most likely did not have these weaknesses.

"I don't know," Byakuran replied.

They ceased their conversation as Tsuna came over, panting and red from exertion. He collapsed next to Enma, who handed him a bottle of water sympathetically.

"Reborn's…a…beast…" Tsuna wheezed, greedily gulping water. Enma shook his head.

"That's what you get for hanging out with gods," Enma replied. He inched subtly away from the sweaty form. He loved Tsuna to bits, but he really didn't enjoy him when he looked an inch away from puking.

XxX

Xanxus returned to the dorms late that night. He shook his head in irritation at finding the auras of multiple gods in Tsuna's room before heading to the refrigerator. He pulled out a beer and chugged half of it in one gulp before collapsing on the sofa. He thought back to the events earlier that day.

_"So you want our help?" Mammon asked, counting bills in his hand. The hooded figure was floating next to Belphegor, who laughed delightedly._

_"I knew you needed the prince's help!" he exclaimed, hair covering his eyes and grin wide and full of teeth._

_"You're only a fake prince, Bel-senpai," Fran grumbled and received several new knife shaped holes in his frog hat for his remark._

_"Aw, Xanxus darling, I knew you would need my expertise," Lussuria cooed, flouncing around like a damn pompom._

_"Anything for you, boss!" Leviathan declared, shuffling to beside Xanxus, who snarled and glared at the tengu. Leviathan flinched and sniffled dejectedly._

_"Voi, shitty boss, you can't just expect us to come to beck and call every time you need something done!" Superbi Squalo yelled, waving his sword around. Xanxus threw a wine glass at the silver haired swordsman with pinpoint accuracy and growled._

_"Shut up, trash! You know what's at stake here. If you want to prove yourselves, you will follow me, and you will win this goddamned challenge," the scarred tengu snarled, rising and pinning each of his closest companions with a glare. "You want to prove yourself as the greatest swordsman? The true prince? You want to prove that you are better than your teacher, to prove that you can serve your boss? Then you will _win_."_

_Silence fell as everyone contemplated his words, eyes narrowed._

_"You know I cannot participate since I am a god," Mammon finally said, bowing his head apologetically. "However, as the god Daikokuten, God of Wealth and one of the seven lucky gods, I can ensure that you will have the best equipment and the proper funds. You'll have to pay me back with interest later, though."_

_Xanxus nodded dismissively and focused his eyes on the rest of his group, full of rejects and those wanting to prove themselves._

_"We will have opposition. There is rumor that Tyr will be one of Enrico's subordinates, as well as Rasiel," Xanxus said, directing this at Squalo and Bel._

_The answering smirk s were predatory._

_"We also need one more member to participate. Each team consists of seven people, right?" Levi piped up in an attempt to curry favor from his boss. Xanxus tossed a disdainful look at the umbrella-wielding tengu but nodded._

_"Then who will be fit to be in the same team as the prince?" Bel asked pompously, tilting his head contemplatively._

_"Anyone who is not a god. We will need a strong candidate. Do not fail me," Xanxus said, narrowing his eyes threateningly. Levi snapped to attention, as did everyone else in the room other than Squalo._

_"Voi, why do we have to search for the extra! You're the fucking boss!" Squalo shouted angrily and received another glass of wine to the head._

_Xanxus stood without another word and passed his companions, the same tengu who had been with him since childhood, who had followed him through thick and thin. He would trust them with his life, as incompetent and idiot as they all were._

_When he reached outside, he spread his black wings and flew away from the mountain._

Xanxus downed his beer and tossed it into the recycling bin. It would have gone in the trash, but Tsuna was a stubborn runt when he wanted to be, and Xanxus finally made a habit of tossing cans and bottles in the recycling bin.

He closed his eyes.

Two weeks. Two weeks until he could prove himself.

Two weeks until he either rose to become the heir of the tengu family, or two weeks until his world came crashing down around him.

Xanxus's mouth stretched into an anticipatory grin.

He couldn't wait.

XxX

A/N: And so begins the ending of one arc and the beginning of another!

I'm looking for more music to write to. How To Train Your Dragon is all good and well, but I need more! I've been listening to John Williams (Jurassic Park, Schindler's List), and I've been listening to Vocaloid sometimes, and sometimes I'm listening to my Pandora Stations (Paramore, Fall Out Boy, Cobra Starship, Cascada), but I need more! So, music recommendations good for studying or writing to! Hit me.

And my song fic thing is still out. Nobody's asked for a song fic yet, and while I might have to put this story on hold to write it, I really do want to mature my writing (it's so...childish sometimes it makes me cringe, but I figure the only thing to make it better is to write more and more and practice), and a way to stretch my imagination and write more is through this. So, give me a song (any genre, any artist, and if it's foreign, give me a song that I can find a translation to). This can be a party song, an angst song, a romantic song, a traditional song, a folk song, I really don't care. I might even write one to classical music (I love some classical music, just don't give me contemporary...I don't do that well). So think deep, go wild, don't be limited by mainstream music! I cannot guarantee that it will be good (it'll actually probably be really bad), but song fics have always fascinated me. If I don't get one, I'll probably just pick a random one from my iTunes, which consists of Vocaloid covers (I prefer covers to the actual ones sung by the Vocaloids) or Panic! at the Disco. Your choice. Also, I request that you do this via PM and not by review. Any reviews will be considered, but PMs will take precedence.

Please review, and I'll be waiting!

Best regards,

haplessgrapefrut


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: So here we are, chapter 7! Sorry it took so long, I was working on the songfic (shameless plug, go check it out!), and I didn't have much time for this one. However, I've got most of the Varia arc planned out, and after that I've got a hazy idea of the Millefiore arc, so don't worry! Even if it takes me a year, hopefully I'll finish this. Hopefully. Errrrr...

I listened to a one hour version of the second opening of Attack on Titan when writing this. Wow, talk about eargasms...

Please enjoy the story!

XxX

Tsuna frowned at the sketchpad as if it would reach up and give him the nastiest paper cut he would ever experience.

"I won't summon any gods if I draw?" he asked dubiously, turning to Kyoko. The sakura goddess shrugged.

"Well, there's always a chance that some wayward god will be drawn towards you, but you've nearly gotten all of us. Unless you can somehow draw wealth or the wind, I doubt you can summon any more," Kyoko answered, tapping her arm contemplatively. She glanced at the longing look in Tsuna's eyes and giggled. "Go ahead, I swear nothing bad will happen!"

Tsuna eyed both the goddess and the paper suspiciously before picking up a pencil. He placed the tip cautiously on the paper and snapped his eyes around nervously.

"My god, man up!" Reborn finally growled, kicking Tsuna's head. The human yelped and clutched his head in pain.

"Reborn!" he whined unhappily, pencil and sketchpad dropped unceremoniously onto the floor.

"Dammit, don't do that to Tsuna-nii-chan!" Lambo protested, flinging himself at the goddess. Reborn merely snorted and fired a warning shot at the lightning god, who backed off grudgingly (and fearfully, but Lambo would never admit that). Kyoya grunted and opened an eye lazily in a reprimanding glare before flipping onto his other side on Tsuna's bed and attempting to fall asleep again. Ryohei was out doing who knew what.

"Kufufu, I've heard tales of your drawings and the _skill _that your fingers have. Why don't you show me?" Mukuro asked, mouth stretched in a lecherous grin. Tsuna turned bright red, as did Chrome, who squeaked.

"Mukuro!" Tsuna wailed, burying his face in his hands in embarrassment and groaning.

"Oya, don't wear my name out too much. You'll be needing it tonight."

"Get away from Tsuna-nii-chan, you pervert pineapple!"

"_Shut up, or I'll bite you all to death_."

"Kyoya, you could always leave for a while. I'm sure outside is much more peaceful than in here," Kyoko offered, looking herself outside. The sakura were still blooming, and the courtyard was filled with pink petals and students taking a break from studies, kicking a soccer ball around and lazing in the sun.

Kyoya seriously contemplated this before abruptly sitting up and flying out of the window. He disappeared onto the rooftop. Kyoko laughed and followed him.

"Oya, looks like we got rid of two. Now we only need to get rid of the rest. Chrome-chan can stay, though," Mukuro grinned.

"It'll be a cold day in hell before I let you alone with Tsuna-nii-chan anytime soon again!" Lambo declared, tugging Tsuna's hand and hugging it to himself.

Reborn muttered "idiots" under her breath and cocked her gun. It made an audible click.

"You will all shut up right now," she threatened. Mukuro only hummed in amused complacency and leaned back, smirking. Lambo fumed by himself, snuggling into Tsuna's hand.

Silence descended.

The effect would have been impressive if Tsuna's phone hadn't chosen that moment to ring.

_"__Even if these eyes lose their light, I'll keep drawing~ Even if this arm loses its strength, I'll keep drawing~"_

Reborn sighed and tucked her gun away.

Tsuna scrambled for his phone and looked at the caller ID. The temperature dropped several degrees all of a sudden, and Tsuna's eyes sharpened and his face grew more serious. He snapped his phone open and answered.

"Hi, tou-san. Did you need something?"

His long hair shadowed his eyes, and the gods noticed that one of his fists were clenched. A loud, boisterous voice laughed over the phone, and Tsuna clenched his teeth.

"_Tsuna-chan, how are you? Why, can't a dad call his son to be checking up on him?"_

_Not when you haven't called or visited us in two years, you bastard_, Tsuna thought viciously.

"Ahaha, sorry. How are you? Where are you right now?" he asked, tone changing to cheerful in a heartbeat. His face, however, was still darkened with anger and resentment.

"Who's that?" Lambo asked in a loud whisper, and Tsuna twitched.

Reborn jabbed the lightning god in the stomach.

_"__Well, right now I'm in the US! It's so nice here, and the alcohol is so much stronger than the stuff back in Japan!"_

Of course Iemitsu would mention the alcohol. He spent half of his life drunk and the other half travelling and paying no attention to his family in favor of his job as a consultant.

"So are you coming back?" Tsuna asked bitterly, but his father didn't pick up on the tone. Of course he wouldn't come back, why on earth would the workaholic come back to visit his own family.

_"__I am, actually! I need to check up on my dear Tsuna-chan and Nana-chan, don't I?"_

Tsuna nearly dropped his phone in surprise. Did he just say…?

"You're coming home?" he asked.

_"__Well, I'm heading back to Namimori! I still need to call Nana-chan first, but…"_

"Mama doesn't live in Namimori anymore," Tsuna answered tersely. What kind of husband did not keep track of his own wife? Did he even know which university Tsuna was at right now?

_"__What? When did she move? Haha, I guess I'll have to call her then!"_

Tsuna nearly threw his phone at the wall. Iemitsu was incredibly fond of his family, Tsuna knew, but only in that very distant 'look, I have such a cute wife and son, let me compete with you to see whose family is cuter!' way. He never visited, he never even _came_ when Nana had moved. He didn't even know that Nana had felt so lonely in such a large house that resided in a small town and had decided to move to a small apartment in Tokyo, where she could make plenty of friends and stop waiting for her useless husband.

"Yeah, you do that. I'll call you back," Tsuna replied and snapped his phone shut without a goodbye.

Silence that Reborn could not command earlier reigned now.

"Kufufu, that was enlightening. Family troubles, Tsunayoshi-kun?" Mukuro chuckled, although his eyes were understanding. He knew what abandonment was as well.

"It's fine. I-I need to go out for a bit," Tsuna answered, sucking in a shaky breath and standing. He darted out of the doorway, and the suite door slammed shut.

XxX

"You just let him out of your sight?!" Byakuran demanded incredulously. "Did you forget the last time you did that?"

"He needed space and time. Kyoya's shadowing him right now, he'll be fine," Reborn replied, polishing her gun and inspecting the slight green tint. When it shined to his satisfaction, she slid the gun into her suit.

Xanxus cursed. "I don't need to worry about that trash on top of everything else," he muttered under his breath angrily.

"Oh? Is something going on in the tengu world?" Reborn asked, eyes narrowed. "How is Viper?"

"_Mammon _is being a bitch. And this is none of your fucking business!" Xanxus snarled.

"Are you finally realizing that you're only an illegitimate child? With the blood of a human woman and a tengu father? A weak fledgling, unable to stand up to the big bad world and raise his head with pride?" Reborn asked as she nonchalantly picked at her fingernails. Nice, long, and perfect, as always.

Xanxus snarled, and feathers grew along his neck and stretched down his arms. "_I'll show you who's strong, god!_"

"Xanxus!" Enma said firmly, laying a hand on the tengu's shoulder. Xanxus shoved it off and glared at Reborn.

"You will _never _understand not having parents, god. You, none of you, don't have the capacity of understanding what a parent is, do you?" he hissed. He turned and slammed the suite door open.

"Reborn!" Kyoko admonished. "That was overboard. You know Xanxus's position, egging him on was very cruel."

Reborn tugged her fedora down, ignoring the accusing and astonished gazes on her. "Tell Kyoya to leave. Xanxus will take over Tsuna's watch now."

Reborn tilted her head back and look at everyone, eyes glittering with a manipulative glint.

Because she knew that none of them could help. Gods, by nature, did not have parents and never would. They couldn't understand the importance of parents and giving towards the young. It was one of the inhuman aspects of their personality, but they just didn't have the capacity to want a parent. Be a parent figure, perhaps, but not want one.

She also knew that inugami were largely independent, and the kitsune were free-willed and drifting like wisps of fire. Not unlike the tengu, which had the habit of tending to their young for long periods of time, teaching them how to spread their wings and fly, to grow strong and become a warrior race.

Of the company present, only Xanxus and Tsuna could truly understand how it felt to have a father missing.

XxX

Tsuna stared out at the river. He was sitting on the riverbank, watching the sun set with fiery hues that clashed with the cool colors of the oncoming night. The colors reflected off the waters, sparkling and practically glowing. He couldn't find it in himself to want to draw the spectacular view.

He dug his fingers into the soil, feeling grit lodge itself in his fingernails. It would be a pain to remove later, but right now, he wanted to know that he was grounded, that he was right here, and even if his father did come home, he would be right here for a while. He wouldn't abandon those he held dear and precious, like his father did. He wouldn't forget them.

"What are you doing here, runt?" a gruff voice asked, and Tsuna looked upwards into the solemn face of his roommate. Xanxus stared down at the brunet, face illuminated by the setting sun and lips turned downwards.

"Xanxus-san," he greeted softly. The man nodded and sat next to the human.

A comfortable silence settled over them, one fiddling with the soil and grass with his fingers, the other staring out at the sky. Tsuna thread his fingers through the grass. Why did his father suddenly want to come back? There had to be a reason, and it made him angry that his father had to even have one to visit his family.

"Do…do you ever miss your parents?" Tsuna asked hesitantly. He immediately regretted his question. Xanxus never _had _parents, and here Tsuna was whining about having only one. "S-sorry, you don't have to answ-"

"What is there to miss?" Xanxus interrupted, bitterness seeping into his tone. "They were never there, were they?"

"But do you wish, sometimes, that they were?" Tsuna insisted, surprised that he'd given an answer, and Xanxus's silence was answer enough.

Tsuna lowered his eyes and promptly felt embarrassed when he felt his eyes grow wet.

"My dad…he was never there for me," Tsuna began quietly, and although Xanxus did not move, he knew that the tengu was listening attentively. He felt so bad for spilling his somewhat more fortunate circumstances to this man, but he needed to get this off his chest. He felt like if he kept it bottled up any longer, he'd explode.

"For as long as I remember, it was just my mother and me. Mama…she's the sweetest person you would ever meet. She cooked the most fantastic meals and supported me in whatever I did. She encouraged my art. She was my inspiration.

"My dad, though…I've only seen him three times, for a total of fifteen days. Three days for my fifth birthday, seven for Mama's and his twentieth anniversary, and five for Christmas four years ago. I've only heard from him five times other than the times I've seen him. Two were phone calls for Mama only, one was for a check-up, and two were as heads ups that he was coming home. I-I've never really had a father figure, Xanxus-san.

"I hate him. I-I hate h-him so much!" Tsuna yelled, and in a fit of anger, he threw a rock at the river. The river rippled, and he felt distinctly unsatisfied that his action only made a small ripple. He felt so small.

"Half the time I've seen him, he's lazing around home, being a drunkard. He wears a wife beater around the house and doesn't even take Mama out to dinner. It's like he comes home as an _obligation_, not to see us. He sees Mama as the perfect wife waiting for him at home, and he sees me as…I think he sees me as a failure," Tsuna said quietly. "All I've ever chased after is art, but he thinks that I can never succeed as an artist. He thinks that I should follow in his footsteps, become a consultant for large companies, marry and leave the family at home while I go around the world and have the time of my life, and maybe send some money home sometimes."

Xanxus stayed silent, still gazing out at the sky, and Tsuna, drained, leaned against the lean body beside him. Xanxus stiffened, muscles tensing before relaxing and slipping an arm around the brunet. They stayed in silence, basking in each other's company.

"He's coming home in a month," Tsuna said suddenly. "The bastard's coming home in a month, and he didn't even know Mama had moved. He still thought that we would be here waiting. He didn't know Mama learned to move on, to grow a backbone and look for her own dreams instead of looking after his."

"At least you have a father," Xanxus whispered, tone low. Tsuna winced, guilty that he was talking about this with _Xanxus _of all people, but he shook his head wryly.

"Is it better, though? Is it really, Xanxus-san? For all that it counts, I've never had a father either. Is it really better to have parents whom you've lost, or to never have had at all?"

Tsuna leaned more into the reassuring warmth of the fierce man beside him. This strong, strong man, who had never had parents, who still could stand strong as a pillar.

"I'm not as strong as you think, Tsunayoshi," Xanxus said, almost as if reading his thoughts. "I've never met my parents. They died, and the seat of head returned to my grandfather. My mom died of abandonment and malnutrition, and my dad from illness.

"When I was small, I used to pretend," Xanxus began. "I used to pretend that I was actual royalty, that I was pure-blooded. I quickly grew to learn that I could not pretend.

"Tengu are cruel, crueler than humans. Tengu have talons that can rake, wings that can sweep away a small hatchling, and a beak as sharp as a blade. Hatchlings are even crueler. I never had a parent to support me, to tell me that I was special or to dote on me. The only choice I had was to grow a spine and become strong.

"I came into a group of tengu, somewhat like me. They were also those who had been shunned, who were pushed aside in favor of better tengu. The first was a loudmouth, wanting to prove that he could grow to become the best swordsman, but crushed under jeering. There was a prince, the younger twin of a major tengu line, and there was a boy striving to prove that he was not useless. There was a stupid frog who wanted to escape his master's shadow, and a fucking flamboyant hatchling who couldn't stand the tengu's somber and serious way of life. We wanted to prove ourselves, and so we named ourselves the Varia and now we strive to become the strongest there is. We have to prove ourselves to even feel like we exist.

"You see, I am not as strong as you are. Anyone can become like me, bitter and heartless under the right circumstances. My nonexistent parents could not nurture me, so I learned to grow myself, to kill or be killed, to crush or be crushed. I am not as strong as you, Tsuna.

"You have a heart. You can still accept, still sympathize, and still tolerate. Despite never having a father, the most important man in a boy's life, you're not trash. You're a runt, but you're not trash. Some may view this as a weakness, and I used to see it as such as well, but no longer. You're much stronger than I am. You've remained cheerful in the face of the world, where I have grown bitter and resentful, only knowing how to strive forwards and trample."

Tsuna was stunned by what was probably the most he'd ever heard Xanxus say in one conversation. The tengu looked vaguely uncomfortable, but his arm was still firmly around Tsuna, and his gaze resolutely directed towards the river.

"I-I'm not as strong as you think I am!" he protested.

Xanxus scoffed. "You've got to be to keep those trashy gods around, to be able to accept even though you never had acceptance yourself. You accept Byakuran, Enma, and I."

Tsuna felt himself blush, but his mind was still stuck on one part Xanxus had said during his story.

"You have a heart, Xanxus. You're not as ruthless as you think," he said quietly and laid his hand over his companion's chest. Xanxus looked down, startled. Tsuna patted the flesh above his heart and smiled, still full of sadness, but strong. "You feel, don't you? You care for your friends, you protect them and took them under your wing. You're strong, Xanxus, to be able to grow under a whole society's loathing and scorn. Don't think you aren't."

Xanxus stared at this man in wonder, this understand and accepting human. This man who could see light in the darkest and most hardened of souls. He felt warmth bloom in his chest, and he stood abruptly, dark skin a slight red from blushing.

"You're deluding yourself," he said gruffly and crossed his arms, scowling. Tsuna laughed, sensing that their moment…whatever this moment had been…was over, and stood as well.

"Let's head back."

Xanxus nodded in agreement, and as he turned to head back to the dorms, Tsuna watched the shoulders, so much more lax than they usually were, the strict lines softer.

"Xanxus. Are you okay?"

The tengu paused and turned to look at Tsuna.

"Hurry up, runt, Kozato's probably making dinner already."

_I will be._

Tsuna smiled, and he was positive that the both of them walked back with a weight off of their shoulders.

XxX

When they returned back to the dorms, they were met with a surprise and much chaos.

"Shishishi, so this is where you stay!"

"Voi, fucking boss, where've you been? We need to get training so you can prove yourself!"

Xanxus cursed violently and drew his guns out. "What are you doing here, trash?!" he snarled, glancing back at Tsuna, who was quite stunned at the suddenly very crowded common room. He saw quite the character before glancing wildly at the mess their guests were making and the rage Xanxus was in.

"W-who are they?!" he asked, rushing in and grabbing a kitchen knife from a blond whose hair covered his eyes and whose wide grin was as unnerving as Mukuro's creepy chuckle.

"Oh, you're such a cutie!" a flamboyant man with a green tuft of hair and a red mohawk squealed, reaching over and grabbing the human to hug Tsuna to his chest.

"Oi, get your dirty paws off of him!" Mukuro scowled, immediately pulling out his trident and stabbing it into the man's arm. The man howled before fixing a flirty pout on the god.

"As much as I enjoy S&M, I'd rather you not stab me," he whined, reaching up to try to flick the small god away.

"Shut up, or I'll bite you all to death!" Kyoya snarled, withdrawing his tonfas.

Reborn only pulled her fedora over her eyes and smirked. "My, I haven't seen you in a while, Viper."

"It's Mammon. It's unfortunate, you don't owe me any money."

"Hiiie! Please don't fight in here!" Tsuna hyperventilated, already running over the expenses that the broken dorm was going to take to fix it up. There were several gouges along the wall (probably caused by the silver headed man, who held a sword…wait, no, it was _attached _to his hand!), and the coffee table had been smashed.

"Silence!" Xanxus roared, and everybody immediately stopped their current activities (not that a man with a spiky afro and lightning marks running down his face stopped drooling while looking at Xanxus in a distinctly disturbing manner). Xanxus wanted to sigh and run his hand down his face. Goddammit, why the hell did his shitty subordinates need to invade his dorm like this?

"Why the fuck are you all here?" he barked, turning his gun onto the silver haired man.

"Oi, you said yourself that we only have two weeks. We've got to train and get stronger," the man said, waving his sword around wildly. Tsuna sincerely hoped that he had the presence of mind to keep the pointy object away from the walls. As he watched the sword dig into the plaster, Tsuna cried a goodbye to his wallet and bank account.

"Stupid shark-senpai was crying without you, boss," a boy with a bored expression and the strangest black frog hat said in a monotone. The silver hair man spun around pointed his hand at the boy.

"Voi, you were pining without your master!" he retaliated angrily.

"Kufufu, my, Fran-chan, it's a surprise to see you here again."

"It's pineapple-shishou. I see you haven't changed."

"Shishishi, so this is your shishou."

Several weapons, mainly small knives and a trident, lodged themselves firmly in the boy's frog hat. He only sighed.

The groveling man with the lightning marks on his face simpered. "Boss, we know you're strong, but we also need to train."

Xanxus scowled. "Fine. We're heading back, so leave now!" he commanded, jerking his head out the door.

The various men piled out the door in a disorderly manner, consisting of many jabbed elbows and prods with various pointy objects.

"How long are you going to be gone?" Tsuna asked, worried as he saw the darkened expression on the tengu's face. Xanxus looked over at the human before raising a hand to ruffle his hair.

"Not long."

And with that, Tsuna was left with the gods and an incredibly messed up room.

Reborn hummed thoughtfully. "He's probably going off to train for the challenge to be the tengu head."

Tsuna raised his eyebrows. "Will he be okay?"

The goddess pursed her lips. "Dame-Tsuna, the challenges for the head of the tengu results in only two fates: succession, or death. Xanxus will either die trying to win, or will win."

Tsuna's eyes widened, and he yelped. "We can't let him do that! He can't sacrifice his life for that!"

"And what if his very livelihood depended on this succession? Were his grandfather's true grandsons to succeed him, Xanxus will most likely be exiled. He's only half tengu, he cannot live with the pureblooded tengu."

Tsuna bit his lips furiously. "He still can't! His life is worth so much more than…"

"Than what?" Reborn cut in ruthlessly. "You can't stop him, and he's made his decision. He's putting his life, and the lives of his best friends, on the line for this. You cannot say that this cause is not worth it, because to him, it _is_."

Tsuna frowned and announced, "Then we'll help him."

There were several exclamations of "what?!" and "what can _you _do, Tsunayoshi?" and "kufufu, you'll only become fodder" from the various gods gathered around the area.

"We can't just follow him," Kyoko said helplessly, zipping around agitatedly. "He's headed to his family compound, and once there, they will all probably undergo intense training. There's not much you can do to help."

Ryohei agreed, and though she looked concerned, she supported the sakura goddess. "She's EXTREMELY right, Sawada! This is none of our business, let Xanxus handle it."

"But what if Xanxus _dies_?!" Tsuna asked helplessly, tugging his hair in distress.

There was silence.

"Well, if you insist, we can always help train them," Reborn said slyly, black eyes twinkling with hidden intentions and mirth.

"What?!"

"Herbivore, do _not _volunteer me for things I have no intention of doing."

"Haha, that's an EXTREMELY good idea!"

"Kufufu, I haven't trained my dear apprentice for a very long time. I have to make sure he's not getting sloppy."

"Train?! Hah, I'm too good to be training tengu brats."

Reborn aimed at the last speaker and fired. Lambo dove to the side in panic.

"Clearly not good enough to be scared of me, stupid cow."

"You'd really do that?" Tsuna interrupted the chaos, and everybody turned their eyes to the human. Ryohei nodded enthusiastically, and everyone gave their consent except for Kyoya. The gods all turned to the taciturn god, and he suddenly really wanted to pinch his nose in exasperation.

"I refuse to train no-good herbivores. I will come along, however."

Tsuna beamed a grin. "You guys are the best."

"Aw, we'd do anything for you, Tsuna-nii-san!" Lambo grinned affectionately.

Although unsaid, everybody agreed that they would do mostly anything to keep the oblivious human happy.

"Hey, shouldn't we get Takeshi and Hayato? Those two would EXTREMELY help with training!" Ryohei suggested.

"Yeah, okay! Those two owe Tsuna-nii-chan anyways for saving their asses from Mukuro," Lambo agreed, and Mukuro huffed. Chrome patted his arm consolingly, but her mouth was quirked in a shy grin. Kyoko laughed and pulled Chrome over.

"We'll get them! We should leave tomorrow so Tsuna has time to pack," Kyoko volunteered, and Chrome blushed bright red before stuttering.

"K-Kyoko-chan!" she exclaimed, but after a narrowed eyed look that promised death should Chrome get hurt from Mukuro to Kyoko, Mukuro hummed and softened.

"Go ahead, Chrome-chan. As weak and vicious as those two are, they will not hurt a female without proper provocation," the moon god reassured.

"But you did provoke us…" Lambo muttered under his breath before freezing under Mukuro's creepy smile and glaring red eyes.

"Okay, we'll meet tomorrow morning here. Don't be late," Reborn ordered, nodding a farewell to the two female goddesses who disappeared in a swirl of purple missed and sakura petals.

"Get some rest. We've got an adventure tomorrow," Reborn ordered before turning her smirk onto Tsuna, who shivered. "And after that, we've got hard training to do."

Suddenly, Tsuna wasn't sure if Reborn was referring to Xanxus and his friends, or him.

XxX

Xanxus growled as he heard a knock on the training dojo. He and the rest of the group were planning on leaving very soon to begin intensive training on the other side of the mountains, uninterrupted and focused. As it was, they were only waiting for Levi, the goddamned idiot.

"What?" Xanxus snarled as he opened the door, and his mouth nearly dropped open in surprise when he saw who was standing there. "Brat?!"

"U-uh, hi, Xanxus," Tsuna shuffled, looking up at Xanxus sheepishly.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" the tengu asked, and behind him, the flamboyant man that Tsuna remembered from the day before popped up.

"Aw, it's the cutie again!" he cooed. "Nice to meet you, my name's Lussuria!"

Xanxus shoved the annoying tengu back before refocusing his glare on the trembling and intimidated human.

"W-well, Reborn and the others said that they would help you train, and I figured that they could help," Tsuna hurried to explain, hoping that Xanxus wouldn't turn him down. There was a muffled "We never volunteered, we were coerced" followed by a "Haha, Hayato, don't be such a stick in the mud! Of course we'll help!"

"We don't need trash training us," Xanxus growled. Another man, the teal-haired tengu, popped his head up where Lussuria's had been.

"My my, it's the pineapple-shishou," he drawled, to which Mukuro grinned, promising torture and death.

"Oya, looks like my little Fran froggie needs to be re-educated."

Xanxus snarled. "We don't need your help!"

Tsuna turned soulful eyes onto the scarred man, and Xanxus instantly uncomfortable when faced with the doe eyes and pleading expression.

"But Xanxus!" the human protested. "I heard that you could _die _from this, and I really don't want you to! So I figured, if the gods could help you train, you'd get stronger better than you could training by yourself, and hopefully you wouldn't die!"

Xanxus stared down in surprise. It never occurred to him that anyone else would care about him, would care about his life and how he lived it. He'd honestly thought that, should he die, there wouldn't be many to mourn his death, and his death wouldn't bring down the walls of anybody's world.

But apparently, it would bring down the world of one of the people he actually cared about in this world.

Xanxus scowled at the gods behind Tsuna. Some were looking begrudging, and some were looking particularly sadistic. Other's just seem way too excited for the prospect.

"…fine. We'll leave soon, so if you're not ready, we're leaving you behind," Xanxus conceded begrudgingly. Even he could not deny the benefits of being trained by the gods, the most powerful beings in Japan and the masters of their trade.

Tsuna's relieved smile made putting up with the pesky beings worth it.

XxX

A/N: Sometimes I feel like I get sloppier in some places, and then more dedicated to writing in others. Once again, criticisms are welcome, as well as any plot holes that I missed or grammar mistakes that inevitably leaked into my writing. How does one go about procuring a beta?

Once again, please send me song recs. I've got about 4 or 5 song recs right now, but when (if) I ever finish those, I'll be complete out, and then I'll have to resort to clicking a random playlist from my Pandora.

Please review!

Best regards,

haplessgrapefrut


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Guys guys guys I have a serious problem. I'm kinda sorta obsessed with the Levi/Eren pairing. It's too fucking precious. Someone help me, I'm having issues and I don't know how long I can endure this relationship. It's like, the biggest fucking ship of all ships that I am sailing right now. Jegus. That being said, I feel like I drew much of Hayato's personality from Levi this chapter from reading too many Ereri fanfiction.

...right, so. Here's another update, once again un-betaed (cough this is a plea to anyone willing to proofread my works...doesn't ff like supply us with these or something).

Also, there are many, many more expletives in this chapter than usual. I'm sorry if this offends any of your sensibilities, but we're talking about the Varia here, and I don't think you can talk about the Varia and not involve toilet humor in some way.

So, read and review!

XxX

Belphegor cocked his head and grinned. He looked at the floating figure through strands of blond hair and adjust his tiara.

"Shishishi, so the little god comes out to play."

"Watch your mouth, fucking tengu," Hayato replied irritably, narrowing his eyes. "I'm doing this as repayment to the human, don't make me regret my decision."

Bel stretch against a tree trunk and pulled on his purple and black striped t-shirt. He twirled several knives around flipped them through the air, catching each one by the handle carefully.

"So, _sensei_, what words of wisdom do you have to impart on this prince?" Bel queried, pushing off the trunk and deftly attaching wires to his knives without the small god noticing.

"We're going to my place. Come here," Hayato grunted, gesturing to the tengu.

"Shishi, are you propositioning me?"

"Will you just _shut up_?"

And with a flash of fire, the two disappeared from the forest clearing and reappeared in a barren land, the ground cracked and the sky red. It was horribly hot, and Bel pulled off his jacket irritably.

"What was the point of that?" he asked unhappily, turning to see a fully grown man.

Or a fully grown god, as should be in this case.

"Wah, you're hotter all big, you know?" Bel leered, and caressed his knives. "The prince wonders what you would look all sliced up."

Hayato looked faintly disturbed by this comment. He conjured flames in his hand and twirled them around. "I'd like to see you try, little weasel."

"Weasel!" Bel repeated with an offended tone. "We'll see about that!"

And with that last parting comment, the two launched themselves into battle.

XxX

"Why the hell do I get the brat?" Leviathan asked, groaning at having to train with the immature god in front of him.

"You get me because you use lightning in your attacks, don't you? And you're so lame, using umbrellas. God, you should have gotten a cooler weapon, like my horns," Lambo boasted, grinning obnoxiously.

"You shitty cow, I'll teach you!" Levi roared, enraged. "For you gods to butt into the boss's business like this must take guts! I'll teach you a lesson!"

Lambo sighed as lightning struck him from various umbrellas. He shook his head as he felt the voltage tickle him.

"So weak. We'll have to train you properly."

XxX

"Hah, so I get the legendary swords master and the god of rain, don't I?" Superbi Squalo asked, grinning like a shark. "Fine by me. I've always wanted to win a battle against a god."

Takeshi chuckled lightheartedly, rubbing his neck. "Haha, I'm glad you're excited! I'm looking forward to working with you too!" His eyes suddenly sharpened, and he withdrew his kata with practiced ease. "But I'm afraid you won't be the one beating me. That would ruin my reputation as a god, don't you think?"

The silver haired tengu spread his black wings and sliced his sword through the air. "Get bigger, and we can get this show started, scum."

Rain started falling, and a sheet of water sudden cloaked the god. As the rain let up, Takeshi was as tall as Squalo. Lithe and muscled, the god grinned at the Squalo and raised his hands, which were each clutching a katana. His movements were practiced, and his smile hid a dangerous edge. Rain came down in a nearly a solid wall, and everything but their immediate surroundings were blocked.

"Welcome to my realm. Let's get started!"

"Let's go, scum!"

XxX

"My, aren't you just adorable, sweetheart!" Lussuria cooed at the tiny god. Ryohei beamed.

"Why, you're EXTREMELY nice! I'm glad I got someone who's EXTREMELY easy to deal with!" she responded. "So do you know how to box?"

Lussuria grinned and fluttered his hand. "To box? I know so many types of martial arts, you probably couldn't even imagine!"

Ryohei gained an excited gleam in her eyes, and with a flash of sunlight, she transformed. Their surroundings changed, leaving them in a rocky area. Grass fluttered in the gentle wind, and the harsh sun overhead revealed a cave. Ryohei herself was larger, fists wrapped and in a ready position.

"Let's test those EXTREME martial arts of yours, then!"

Lussuria admired the goddess's skin and grinned. "Okay, but afterwards, you _have _to tell me how you keep your skin that nice."

XxX

"Shishou…" Fran whined, playing with a blade of grass. His frog hat was already poked full of holes, but he looked completely unharmed. Mammon grunted nearby, and his frown grew even more pronounced.

"Kufufu, my little apprentice, patience. Show me the illusions again," Mukuro chuckled. Chrome sighed at his sadistic streak but smiled reassuringly at Fran, who looked back with a deadpan expression.

"Shishou, your clone's starting to freak me out," Fran said, pointing at the girl. Chrome deflated slightly, but used to the tengu's blunt way of speech, only shook her head.

A trident once again poked through the hat.

"Pay attention to my lessons, brat," Mukuro growled with a pleasant smile on his face. "I'm taking time out of my schedule to teach you."

"You would've spent that time ogling that human anyways," Fran muttered but obliged his master by conjuring snakes the size of a tower and dogs that could rival small cars.

"Still very weak."

"Not as weak as your pineapple hair."

Three more holes made themselves known in the frog hat. It was a wonder the poor thing was still maintaining its shape.

Mammon sighed and wondered why, exactly, he was made to tag along with this comedy team. He had plenty of money to work on back at the base compound. Nonetheless, he found himself giving pointers and arguing with Mukuro about the finer points of illusions.

XxX

Reborn glanced between Kyoya, Tsuna, and an increasingly agitated Xanxus.

"I don't need your help, trash," Xanxus growled.

Reborn turned her eyes permanently to Xanxus. "Your aim is horrible, and the fluidity of your movements is still rough. I will be taking care of your training."

She clicked her gun, grinning at the tengu. Xanxus felt a faint sense of foreboding, but his pride didn't allow him to show it. "Fine, let's get going then."

Reborn tsked and shook her head. She tilted her fedora up and glanced over Xanxus. He felt like he was being stripped of all clothes and analyzed like a fascinating specimen. "We'll need to build up your muscles, train some reflexes into you, and work on your gun technique."

She grinned sadistically and fired a shot directly at Xanxus. The bullet went into his forehead, and he disappeared in a plume of smoke. Tsuna shouted in alarm, but Reborn merely waved him off.

"Take care of Dame-Tsuna's training, Kyoya. Make sure he doesn't slack off while I'm gone," she instructed and ignored Tsuna's panicked sputtering and Kyoya's growing smirk. She also disappeared in a plume of smoke.

"You heard her, Tsunayoshi. You'll be training with me," Kyoya grinned, pulling out his tonfa. Tsuna shrieked.

"Wait, why am I training?!" he wailed. Kyoya merely smirked wider before flying at Tsuna and promptly knocking him out.

XxX

Xanxus sat up, groaning as he felt his head pound as if someone had taken a hammer to it. He bore the pain and opened his eyes to take in the surroundings.

He was lying by a sparkling creek, full of jumping fish. The air flowed gently around him, and the sun shone on him gently. He almost though he could hear soothing music in the background. If Xanxus were particularly poetic, he would have filled pages upon pages of descriptions of his surroundings. Too bad he wasn't.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" a woman asked, and Xanxus turned to see Reborn. The previous events flashed before him, and he snarled.

"You _bitch-_"

"I'm the goddess of everything that flows: words, music, speech, etc etc. This is my realm, where everything is as liquid as water and the scenery is nice enough to give you ten cavities. And this is where I'm going to train you," Reborn said, dressed in a suit and propping a green tinted gun on her shoulder. She smirked. "Be prepared for the worst beat-down of your life, brat."

Xanxus bared his teeth in anticipation. Finally, someone who could fight him. He withdrew both of his guns slowly. "Then what are you waiting for, trash?"

He barely had enough time to react before both of his guns were shot out of his hands. Xanxus's eyes widened. When had she moved…?

"Slow reflexes. Too much time spent on anticipating the fight and not enough time on actually observing your opponent. We have much to do. Strip."

Xanxus sent death rays at the goddess, who only studied her gun nonchalantly.

"I said strip."

Xanxus reluctantly shook off his shirt and shucked his pants. His eyes narrowed at Reborn, who seemed amused.

"Well, I guess I'll let you preserve your masculinity. Doesn't seem like there's much to hid in there anyways," she sneered before disappearing.

Xanxus barely turned his head to scan his surroundings before he was flung into the creek…which turned out to be much too deep and too fast flowing. As his head went under the water, and he clawed his way to the surface, he heard Reborn say something that made his chest simultaneously clench with excitement at a challenge and swell with dread at having to endure this psychotic goddess for another two weeks.

"Survive these two weeks, and I promise, there won't be many people you can't win a fight against."

XxX

Tsuna was, to be honest, very, very terrified.

Kyoya had done something weird and puffed them into this weird purple smoke. When the smoke had dissipated, Tsuna found himself in a war torn land. Although there were no bodies, there was a faint smell of blood, and weapons were stuck in various states of disuse into the hard dirt. Tsuna gagged a bit at the cloying air.

He barely had a warning before he caught a flash of steel heading towards his head. He dove out of the way, glancing over his shoulder in disbelief when the tonfa met ground instead. Chunks of dirt exploded around the impact, and he gaped at the tiny god that had seemed to grow much bigger.

"Tsunayoshi, we will be training. I may not train the others, but you will make an exception for," Kyoya said, stalking towards the cowering human. His eyes sparked with sadistic glee, and his smirk was enough to make Tsuna wet his pants.

Why, oh god why did he make friends with the most dangerous beings in Japan?

"We will start with physical exercises. Start running."

Tsuna cried.

XxX

One day passed to two, and two passed to five, and before long, a whole week and a half had passed. Two days remained before the challenges for the head of the tengu, and Xanxus was vibrating with excitement and tension.

Tsuna collapsed through the dojo door, groaning as he hit the ground. He patted it happily. Sweet, sweet ground, it never failed him. It was always right beneath him, ready to catch him when he fell. Ah, if only he could lie here for the whole day…

"Tsunayoshi, get up. You're acting undignified," Kyoya snorted, whacking the brunet's head. Tsuna whined weakly.

The past week and a half had been pure hell. He never quite understood why _he _also had to train, but he figured that since he was already skipping two whole weeks of college, he might as well do something productive (and he really did feel guilty about skipping, but he'd already emailed his professors, claiming family emergency, and they'd let him go with some reluctance; when he got back, he would have to lock himself up in his room and study).

"Kyoyaaaaaaa," he swatted at the god. Kyoya's eyebrows twitched.

"You will get up right now, or I'll bite you to death."

Tsuna's reaction was conditioned. He sat up ready to face the god head on. His fists rose into a ready defensive position, and his eyes pleaded with the smirking god.

"I'm not training anymore. You can't do that!" he exclaimed unhappily.

"Then get up. The others will be arriving soon."

Tsuna grumbled and whined some more before climbing to his feet. His muscles screamed at him, but he did notice that he seemed to move with more grace. Well, at least he wouldn't be completely clumsy anymore.

As he tried to walk to a nearby seat, he tripped over a mat.

Well, there went that hope.

He heard the sound of the door opening, and he turned to see the tengu with the green and pink hair. Lussuria, wasn't it?

"Oh, I see that I'm not the first. Hello, dear," Lussuria grinned, patting Tsuna's head. "You look so beat up, poor thing. You should get some rest."

Tsuna smiled up at the man thankfully before something barreled into his stomach. His breath left him in a whoosh.

"Yo, Sawada! You look EXTREME, and your tummy's not as flabby!" Ryohei exclaimed, poking at the sweatshirt covered stomach.

Tsuna blushed. "I wasn't that fat!"

Ryohei glanced up, eyes twinkling with mirth. "You've got to EXTREMELY box with me sometime!"

The human immediately rethought. "Wait, actually, no, I think I'm still too weak. Maybe next time?"

Lussuria chuckled before heading towards the back of the house.

Kyoya frowned before diving into Tsuna's hair. Ryohei noticed this before cracking a loud yawn. "I'm going to need those recuperative powers, Sawada. Teaching's hard!"

Tsuna chuckled before gesturing at his hair. "It's not washed, so it's probably pretty nasty, but go ahead, if you think you can stand the stench."

Ryohei laughed boisterously before also disappearing into his hair.

Tsuna hummed and sat. He rolled his head, trying to get rid of the crick in his neck, and thought back to the past week and a half.

Kyoya had been utterly ruthless. First, he'd made a route for Tsuna to jog on using the swords laying around the battlefield (Tsuna still shuddered at what _exactly _had happened in such a devastated place, but he quickly switched his thoughts to a more pleasant topic). Afterwards, the war god had made him do pushups, sit ups, and various other exercises that left Tsuna trembling and shaking in exhaustion. And then, after all of this was done, Kyoya would then spar with him.

It had been terrifying, and on more than one occasion, Tsuna had puked. Watching those flashes of steel race towards his ribs, powerful kicks and flips, and a kind of viciousness that Kyoya and Reborn and Xanxus seemed to share had been the most daunting experience in his life. He'd gotten hit, kicked, punched, and generally pushed around like a rag doll. His only saving grace was that Kyoya held back, and by the end, Tsuna could manage to block half of those hits, though they left his forearms bruised, and dodge the rest. One time, he'd also managed to get his own jab in, which left Kyoya with surprised eyes before his smirk grew and he upped his speed. Tsuna hadn't been able to get back up that night, and instead of sleeping in the cave that they'd found after leaving the battlefield, he'd collapsed right on the bloodied earth. He was too tired to care about the smell of faint blood invading his nose.

He was pulled out of his memories by the sound of squabbling.

"Voi, shitty god, you can't focus on two things at once! You've got to pick one: swordsmanship or baseball!"

"Haha, but I'm good with both, so why do I have to give up one?"

"Because swordsmanship requires your utmost dedication! You can't focus on two, there's no _room_!"

"But I seem to be doing fine right now, aren't I?"

There was a distinct strangled and frustrated noise.

"Shishi, the shark doesn't understand royal and superior beings like us. We can do many things, while lower commoners have a lower skill capacity. Don't you think so, _sensei_?"

"I'm not your goddamned sensei, stop calling me that! Fucking prince."

Tsuna caught sight of the silver haired tengu, whose hand was mysteriously sword free, and the blond, smirking tengu. Beside them, Hayato was fuming, and Takeshi was laughing.

"Hey guys!" Tsuna waved slightly, smiling when Hayato turned his head and frowned and Takeshi grinned.

"Hey, Tsuna! How long have you been here? Didn't you go train with Kyoya?" the rain god asked enthusiastically.

"Yeah, but I don't see why I had to," Tsuna complained. "How did your training go?"

"Well, Squalo here improved in leaps and bounds! He's really good, you know!"

The silver haired man, Squalo, scowled. "Voi, you were such a shitty teacher that I don't think I learned much at all."

"Don't say that! You can almost match me!"

Squalo muttered murderously, somewhat flattered despite himself, before turning his eyes on Tsuna, who froze as if faced with a shark. "Tell me when boss gets here." He left, followed by the blond.

"Shishi, the prince's name is Bel. Bye bye, commoner," Bel sang right before he left.

Tsuna sighed. The beings around him seemed like the most intimidating ones he'd ever met. He didn't know quite how he managed to keep such company.

Takeshi hummed and looked over Tsuna with critical eyes. Tsuna shrank somewhat under the harsh gaze. This was, after all, the same god that had admonished all of the others, and Tsuna knew very well that if he had to, this god could be merciless.

"Hey, mind if I stay in your hair for a while?" the rain god finally asked after deliberation. Tsuna didn't exactly know what the intense study was about, but he felt as if he'd passed some kind of test, like Takeshi finally deemed him worthy to spend time in their presence. Tsuna felt somewhat miffed at that.

"Yeah, go ahead!" he nodded, and Takeshi flew towards his puffy brown hair. Stopping an inch by the human's ear, the god said, "And don't mind Hayato, he's all bark and no bite."

As Hayato sputtered in indignation, Tsuna grinned slight and Takeshi laughed, disappearing.

Tsuna studied the fire god, who had the smallest cigarette he'd ever seen clenched between his lips and narrowed green eyes. Rings flashed as he took out his death stick in order to blow out smoke.

"Got a problem, brat?"

Tsuna shook his head, reminded of a wet and indignant cat. "No. Do you want to stay in my hair too? It looks like you had an intense week and a half."

Hayato took the longest time to consider. He looked over Tsuna's body, at the twigs that stuck out of his hair and slightly torn clothing and splotches of dark brown that looked suspiciously like dried blood, before snorting.

"Go get cleaned up, brat, and I might consider it."

Tsuna beamed, and Hayato flushed a bit before he turned towards the door.

"Sorry, but I'm waiting for everyone. I will after they come back, though."

Hayato huffed before plopping down on the chair's armrest.

Tsuna studied the closed-off expression of the fire god.

"Hey, so what's it like being a god?" he asked, propping his head on his hand glancing down at the small god.

Hayato inhaled his cigarette and took his time answering. His sharp eyes met Tsuna's. "Wouldn't you like to know, mortal."

"Hey, that's why I asked, right?" Tsuna grinned encouraging.

Faced with Tsuna's doe eyes and insistence, the fire god shook his head before turning to stare off in space.

"It's decent. There are idiots running everywhere, and there's this fucking baseball idiot who can't seem to take his duties seriously enough. Gods are running off to places they shouldn't be all the time, and it's hard keeping track of all of them. Even with Ryohei, our replacement leader, keeping divine affairs in order is a shit job.

"When Amaterasu-sama was here though…" Hayato trailed off, his lips quirking into a happy grin. His entire face seemed to light up. "She's the light in our little world. Didn't take any shit, but was gentle and compassionate. A fucking godsend, no pun intended, and everybody adored her.

"But then she left, and now we're all running around like headless chickens. It makes me appreciate how much Amaterasu worked for us, you know, and when we butt in with our opinions on matters when we don't even have full information on the subject, well, I'm not quite surprised she left to prove us wrong."

"Because she didn't like that you guys thought all humans were fundamentally wrong, right?" Tsuna asked, tilting his head up to gaze at the ceiling.

Hayato sighed, full of regret and some amount of frustration. "Yes. I just wish she'd return."

Tsuna frowned. Amaterasu shouldn't have just left like that, with so many responsibilities. It wasn't right of a leader, and he found himself faulting her for her actions somewhat.

"That's irresponsible."

Hayato bristled like a cat, and he raised his eyes defiantly. "I know what you're thinking, shitty brat, and no, I don't think she abandoned us. We didn't know shit about humans, and here we are, ruling over them like self-righteous bastards. She had every right to leave and prove her point."

Tsuna nodded his head, agreeing slightly, but still frowning over the fact that Amaterasu left. "She tends to abandon people a lot, right?"

The fire god demanded, "Explain."

"Well, she abandoned Mukuro, didn't she? And then now she's gone from your lives because she couldn't prove something."

"You fucking brat, don't you understand anything that's coming out of my mouth? Or do you just enjoy hearing your mouth run off? This Amaterasu isn't the same Amaterasu as the first one. This one, she's so much better, and she left to _prove_ it to us. To better the lives of all mortals in Japan. And if it's better in the long run, if it helps us care for humans, then I think she made the right choice," Hayato ranted, fury burning in his features.

This loyal god, so understanding despite having been left behind, was a wonder to Tsuna. He shook his head helplessly and laughed, conceding. "I guess so."

"You fucking better, brat."

Tsuna flashed the god an amused look. "You're really loyal, aren't you? I'm sure Amaterasu's glad to have you by her side."

Hayato reddened and muttered something along the lines of "fucking brat".

The two sat in comfortable silence, and when Lambo stumbled in with a beat up Levi, Tsuna couldn't help huff a laugh. Lambo looked at Tsuna like he was Amaterasu herself and flung himself at the brunet before diving into his hair to promptly nap.

Mukuro and Chrome, on the other hand, returned with an unimpressed Fran and a very beat up frog hat and a muttering Mammon, whose mouth was permanently downturned into a frown. He immediately dismissed himself and floated to the back rooms. Mukuro leered at Tsuna and made several remarks that made Tsuna sputter, and Chrome only shook her head fondly. However, they also quickly left to recuperate in Tsuna's hair. He stayed until Xanxus and Reborn returned, and after an assessing gaze at Tsuna, something like approval and pride flashed through her eyes before she ordered him to go get showered at gunpoint so that she could nap.

Tsuna waved a quick goodbye at Xanxus, who looked more toned and tan and moved with a more predatory grace. Xanxus nodded his head and ruffled the brunet's hair before disappearing. Distantly, there were exclamations of "Voi, shitty boss, you're back!" and disturbing bouts of laughter.

Tsuna smiled to himself as he stepped into the shower.

It was good to be surrounded by company once again.

XxX

Dinner that night was rowdy. There were too many beings stuffed into a little room, and there were too many conversations for Tsuna to keep one of his own running with any one particular being.

Xanxus looked over his group with the pride of a king, seated regally in a throne-like chair and sipping wine. Squalo seemed to be detailing his training, waving his sword around, and Tsuna watched with (horrifying) familiarity as the metal scraped against the table. Why was he even wearing that thing to dinner?!

Bel was bullying Hayato, who seemed incensed and ready to stab the blond with a fork, and Mukuro _did _stab Fran with his fork.

Tsuna sank into the commotion and smiled to himself happily.

"Oi, Dame-Tsuna, you get any stronger?" Reborn asked, settling on his shoulder like she was meant to be there. Sometimes, Tsuna felt like she was, like she'd been around the whole time, ordering him to do his homework properly and yelling at him to run laps and threatening him with subtle (and not-so-subtle) death threats.

"Haha, I don't know, Reborn. What do you think?" he asked, peering at her face with a bit of apprehension.

Reborn tilted her fedora over her eyes, and she smirked. "You've gotten a bit better, I suppose, but you've still got a long way to go.

Tsuna beamed, and the goddess scoffed. He was like a puppy.

There was a clinking sound, and Tsuna turned to see Xanxus putting down his utensils, long finished with this rare steak. The tengu narrowed his eyes and took out his gun. Still nobody noticed.

With Reborn chuckling, Tsuna glanced around wildly. What was Xanxus doing…?

A shot was fired into the air, and silence descended before exploding into commotion again.

"That roof is coming out of your account, Xanxus."

"What the fuck, shitty boss?"

"Be quiet!" Xanxus growled, deep in his throat. His very presence demanded attention. "We've still got to look for a replacement, if you shit-for-brains trash haven't forgotten."

Dread instantly fell upon the company.

"Shit!" Squalo cursed, and Tsuna thought that he and Xanxus would fit well among a crew of pirates or sailors.

"Dame-Tsuna would fit well," Reborn immediately piped up, and everyone turned their incredulous gazes to the frozen human and the goddess.

"…what," Xanxus deadpanned. He looked over Tsuna before snorting. "The runt can't even stand up to one of us, what makes you think he can stand up against competition?"

"You'd be surprised. You don't have much time left looking for another candidate, and who else would be willing to help you? You don't have many acquaintances, and Kyoya's told me that he's improved in leaps and bounds," Reborn countered.

Tsuna didn't know if he wanted to swell with pride, sink to the chair in mortification, gape in disbelief, or flee in terror.

Tsuna was very, very surprised, and maybe a little bit in shock.

"You're fucking psychotic," Xanxus snapped, and many nodded their heads in agreement. Even Ryohei and Kyoko looked worried and doubtful. Only Reborn and, surprisingly, Kyoya looked unconcerned.

"He can do it. Heaven knows that he can probably stand toe to toe with one of your tengu," Reborn answered, taking a sip of the tiny wineglass that she'd somehow managed to procure.

Xanxus pinched his nose and huffed. "Once again, you're cra-"

"Do you have any other choice? Think about the company you keep. Byakuran is busy with his duties, and Enma is off god knows where all the time, busy himself. The only other person who'd do this for you is Dame-Tsuna," the goddess argued, eyes flashing.

And there wasn't much Xanxus could argue against that point. He _didn't _have many acquaintances, and all of them were sitting in this very room. No gods could participate, which left only Tsuna who was eligible for the position.

"He could get hurt. You're bat-shit insane," Squalo yelled, finally bursting against the goddess's absurd arguments. He was nailed in the head with a wineglass.

"Runt, you think you could keep up?" Xanxus asked, gruffly, meeting Tsuna's eyes.

To be honest, Tsuna wasn't sure. He definitely didn't know if he could fight against any of these men and win, and he most definitely didn't feel any stronger. However, he would do anything, absolutely anything, for his friends and those he loved. So he steeled his shoulders, and that familiar flash of fire flickered inside of him.

"Yes," he answered firmly.

Xanxus grunted, casting a reluctant and dark gaze at Reborn. "We'll face you against their weakest member. You can't forfeit or you'll be executed. If you lose, I'll do anything to relieve your sentence and save your life, but there are no guarantees. You really fucking sure, runt?"

Reborn smirked, and Kyoya's eyes settled on Tsuna, a small smirk fluttering around the edges of his mouth. They believed in him, and Tsuna didn't exactly know _why_ they put this much faith in him, but he didn't want to disappoint them, and he knew that he'd fight with his dying will, he'd fight with no regrets for Xanxus.

"I'm sure."

Xanxus groaned inaudibly before standing and sweeping his gaze around the room.

"Go get rest, trash. Tomorrow we're doing joint training, and then we've got the competitions. Don't fuck up, and you can keep your lives."

There were several cheers and much smirking going around the tengu circle, but Tsuna was the focus of nearly every god's gaze.

He raised his head further, and he met each of their eyes with his own.

He would win this, for Xanxus and for himself. To prove that he wasn't useless.

He _had _to win this.

XxX

A/N: Okay guys, things are going well. I'll prolly churn out another songfic sometime in the next week, we'll see. My summer classes finally end this week, so I'll have more free time (theoretically), but I'm falling behind on my research, and I really shouldn't spend this much time writing, but you know, when you want to procrastinate, you do literally anything to do so.

Also, I request that you PM me any song requests and not put them in review, for more of a convenience for me. Although, you should still review. Please. It feeds my ego. It's literally like this little blob, and the more reviews it slurps up, the larger it gets, and guys, I need to feed this monster somehow.

Best regards,

haplessgrapefrut


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Ok guys, ummer classes are over, which means more free time, which means more posts. Hopefully. Sorry for the longer than usual post schedule (not that I even have a schedule, it's more like a post-when-I-have-something-ready schedule), I was out of town and out of wifi. I've drawn the next song out of the hat, just gimme a couple of days and I'll get that written sometime.

Right, on with the show. Read and enjoy!

XxX

It was a very, very nice day outside, Tsuna mused as he gazed up at the sky. He could cloud gaze all day, and lying here, inhaling the smell of grass and soil, was comforting. He could feel the fine texture of grass beneath his fingers and hear the chirping of birds-

-oh wait, no, he actually couldn't. Because all of them had been driven off by the joint training that was currently happening.

"Voi, shitty brat, get back up!" Squalo roared impatiently. "We don't have all day to be sitting around twiddling our thumbs in our asses."

Tsuna groaned. This was nothing compared to what he had had to undergo with Kyoya, but this was still brutal.

"If you want to survive your challenge, you will man up and get your scrawny behind off of the ground, scum!" the silver haired tengu yelled again.

Tsuna rolled over onto his side and dragged himself to his feet. A spark of satisfaction lit itself in Squalo's eyes.

"Good. At least you're not too much of a wimp, scum. You should train with Lussuria, the fucking war god only taught you hand to hand, right?" Squalo asked, although he didn't really care for the answer. With a lazy swing of his sword hand, he jabbed in Lussuria's direction. "Get going, brat."

All of the insults and expletives rolled off of Tsuna's back like water off of a duck's. When had he gotten so used to this type of chaos?

Oh, right. When he'd decided to live with gods and magical creatures.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by an enthusiastic arm that threw itself around his shoulders and tugged him into a chest. "Don't worry, honey, I'll take care of you," Lussuria grinned.

"Let go of the brat and start sparring!"

The flamboyant man released the human and waved a hand in acknowledgement. "Yeah, yeah."

He trained his eyes on the shorter male and frowned. Tsuna couldn't quite see eyes behind sunglasses, but he would be willing to bet his left hand that the tengu was judging him.

"I'll hold back, luv, don't worry," Lussuria assured before spreading his legs and bending them slightly ready for the slightest bit of action.

Tsuna brought his fists up, ready to receive any blows.

Stillness set upon the field before activity erupted.

Lussuria flew towards Tsuna, using his wings to aid his speed slightly. He brought back an armored knee in preparation to strike Tsuna.

Tsuna could read every movement.

He dodged easily, sliding to Lussuria's side and bringing his own hand up to strike. Lussuria raised his arm to block the punch and retreated to blink in surprise before dashing back in. He spun, wings tucked into his body to allow more speed, and his leg came around in a roundhouse kick. Tsuna ducked under it and pushed his hand up the leg, trying to overbalance the tengu. Lussuria flapped his wings to regain balance before grinning.

"Not bad, not bad! Let's see how you do with this!" he smiled, excited.

Tsuna allowed his own lips to rise before resuming his defensive fighting.

They traded jabs and blow, evaded and blocked. Tsuna could dodge most of Lussuria's blows, light on his feet and quick to react. To be honest, Kyoya had been much faster, and each tonfa blow had held much more weight. Lussuria was slightly slower, although his footwork and movements that Tsuna vaguely identified as the fighting style known as muay thai were very fast, and the jabs that Tsuna did have to black were painful and threatening to crush his bones. Tsuna had to dodge every single one. He managed to sneak in punches and kicks of his own, but they hardly winded the larger and more muscled man.

He saw the metal knee come at his side, and he planted his hand on the appendage and flipped himself over it in a desperate attempt to avoid collision. He landed firmly on his feet on the other side and thrust his elbow back, knocking into Lussuria's ribs. Lussuria huffed out a breath, winded, and Tsuna took this opportunity to sweep his legs into the taller man's knees. They buckled, and Lussuria went crashing to the ground.

Tsuna panted, his limbs burning and arms screaming at him to stop moving. Sweat beaded down his neck, and he straightened and backed away when Lussuria rose slowly to his feet, also sweating.

"Not bad, Tsuna dear! However, you made one mistake," Lussuria grinned, adjusting his sunglasses.

What…?

Lussuria dashed towards the brunet and brought him to the ground, his larger hands pinning Tsuna down by the chest.

"You should have dealt the killing blow when you brought me down," Lussuria breathed. "You're going to have to do that in the competition. Either knock me out, or take my life."

Tsuna breathed out, deflating when he saw that he had lost the spar.

Lussuria climbed off of him and extended a hand for Tsuna. Tsuna accepted and yanked himself back up.

"Tch, not bad, kid. You're going to have to work on your endurance, though, and that mercy of yours is going to get you killed one day," Squalo said grudgingly.

Tsuna beamed. "Thanks!"

"Goddammit, that wasn't a compliment, brat!"

Tsuna huffed a laugh, still winded, and he felt a sweaty arm sling itself around his shoulders.

"You just might make it, kid," Lussuria said, grinning.

XxX

The last couple of days passed in a daze. Everyone trained, either with partners or individually. Tsuna had been partnered with Fran, the weakest physically but the strongest ability wise, in the Varia several times, and so he spent a lot of time with Mukuro ("Kufufu, couldn't stay away from me, could you, Tsunayoshi-kun?") and Mammon, who turned out to be another of the seven lucky gods, the one called Daikokuten, the God of Wealth.

He managed to see through the illusions, much to Mukuro's surprise and Fran's never ending apathy, and sparred with Lussuria, learning tips and tricks that made Tsuna more of a better hand to hand fighter and less of an amateur ("Tuck your elbows a bit more, dear, you can release your fist a bit faster."). He got tips on what to do should he face a blade user from Squalo and Bel, who cursed at him and laughed maniacally, respectively. He continued his training with Kyoya, although now he trained less so he wouldn't feel like a giant bruise when he actually fought his match.

And finally, it was the first day of the competitions.

XxX

Xanxus took a deep breath and steeled himself for the competition. This…this was what he'd been waiting for. The chance to _prove _himself. The chance to show that, even though he was a bastard child, he had more charisma, more strength, more potential in his little finger than Enrico, Massimo, and Federico all had combined. He had stronger comrades than them, and he had more fire. He could dominate this competition.

His body hummed with excitement and anticipation, although he maintained his brooding expression.

"So, my children, you've decided that you have the potential to become the head of the tengu family," Timoteo said, looking down at the two men in front of him. Enrico bowed his head deferentially and shot a nasty glare over at Xanxus, who held his head high.

"Yes, grandfather, I believe that I can rule this family with a firm fist and make it flourish," the older tengu said. "However, are you sure about letting this kid challenge me?"

Even from behind Xanxus, Tsuna could see the resentment and fear, and he noticed how Enrico had said 'rule', 'firm fist', and 'make'. Enrico was looking for power and the heady feeling of being in charge of countless tengu. Exactly what kind of man Enrico was, Tsuna couldn't be sure, but a gentle and forgiving ruler he was most probably not.

Although Xanxus probably wasn't one, either.

"I can kick your ass from one side of this compound to the other. Want to see?" Xanxus sneered.

Enrico paled. "You see that, Timoteo-dono? He's violent and quick to anger. Surely he would not be a good leader."

"I must allow all competitors to challenge the heir, Enrico," Timoteo responded.

"Shesheshe, they're just full of rejects. Let's indulge them, neh?" a voice that sounded a lot like Bel's, but wasn't his since the blond was frowning for once and his mouth was fully closed, came from behind Enrico. Tsuna glanced over to see a man much like Bel, but instead of ruffled hair, this man's hear was long and straight. Tsuna was instantly reminded of a long-haired dog.

"Shishishi, Rasiel, you haven't changed at all," Bel retorted, wide grin back on his face.

"Oh? Poor poor reject, looks like you haven't either. I'll have to crush you," Rasiel answered, leaning forwards in anticipation.

"Children," a darker skinned man with a white moustache reprimanded. "Rasiel-sama, please do not stoop so low as to antagonize your younger twin."

"Ah, Olgert, still serving trash as always," Squalo said as he grinned maniacally. He ran his hand over his sword slowly. "I'll relish tearing you apart."

"I'm your opponent, aren't I?" another man said. He had short dark hair and ruthless eyes. "You want to prove yourself and become the next Sword Emperor. I'd like to fight you, so I can crush your useless and pathetic dreams along with that boss of yours."

"Don't you dare insult the boss!" Levi cried, eager to join in the ensuing squabble.

"I think the boss will be the last thing on your mind when we crush you," an old man said. He wore a dark green hat and glasses that hid small, sharply angled eyes. Yellow birds were perched on his shoulder. "I will rip you apart. Ohh, I'm getting excited just thinking about it."

Lussuria frowned before wrinkling his nose pointedly. "That's not very attractive at all."

"Like someone like _you _can judge on what's attractive or not? Have you looked in the mirror lately?" a rather portly man asked, laughing cruelly.

"Don't be like that, Massimo. Not everybody can be as talented or as fit for the position of head of the tengu family as Enrico, don't trudge all over the poor little insects' prides," another man, long and lanky, though well built, sneered.

"Federico, you all have the possibility and potential to become head. Do not say otherwise," Timoteo said, silencing all ensuing arguments and death stare matches. Enrico's team sneered towards Xanxus's, who bristled and bared their teeth. Tsuna merely sat back and watched, scanning each face.

Overconfident was the first word that came to Tsuna's mind. They all were after power and thought themselves invincible because, unlike Xanxus and his comrades, had been accepted by the tengu society. They didn't realize that Xanxus's fighters all had their own potential and hidden strengths.

Tsuna only hoped that he could keep up. He wished that the gods were at his back, as they were always a reassuring presence, but they'd been requested (rather forcefully and with many glowers from Timoteo and pouts from the gods) to stay away from the competitions to avoid any 'mishaps' that might happen. Gods, after all, were known to be meddlesome, and a stray cherry blossom drifting across the field may block a competitor's vision and allow his opponent to land a blow. Kyoko had looked offended at the insinuation that Timoteo had made, but Tsuna had seen that disappointed look in her eyes, and he wouldn't have put it past her to attempt something like that. Mukuro most probably would, for the sake of messing with the competitions.

"I will now explain how this competition will proceed. Three matches will be held each day, and on the third, the heirs themselves will fight one another for the position of head. The leader whose team has the most wins will succeed the position. To win, the opponent must either forfeit…or die," Timoteo explained gravely, eyes sweeping over the two opposing factions. No face held a trace of hesitation, only ruthless determination. All but Tsuna's, that is, and Timoteo spared a moment to feel concern for the human. "If each team will choose their first fighter, the competition will proceed in ten minutes."

After dirty looks had been thrown each way and parting taunts, Xanxus turned to the Varia. His eyes scanned each eager face, all yearning for bloodlust and ambition. His eyes flickered to the other team. It seemed Enrico had chosen the tall and lanky man (_Federico, one of Timoteo's potential heirs who decided to team with Enrico for greater chances of getting close to the position, _Tsuna's intuition whispered), who was grinning cockily at his brother and glancing back at them.

"Oi, Lussuria, you're up. Break him in half and crush the trash," Xanxus growled, turning towards the flamboyant martial artist. Lussuria grinned cheerily and slid his sunglasses down to wink.

"Of course, boss, I won't do any less," he responded, and Tsuna saw a flash of menacing foreboding and anticipation in his eyes.

"If both parties have chosen their competitors, we will now proceed to the field," Timoteo announced, and with great trepidation, Tsuna trailed behind the rest of the Varia. Xanxus glanced back at the lagging human. He drifted backwards so that he was walking beside the smaller brunet.

"You can forfeit the moment the match starts. The rest of us are more than enough to take on this scum," Xanxus mumbled, eyes slanted to watch Tsuna out of the corner of his eye.

Tsuna felt a warm feeling rush through his body, and he smiled up at Xanxus, wobbly but determined. That Xanxus,a seemingly cold man, would care made Tsuna want to do his best. "I'll forfeit only when I have to."

Xanxus grunted.

The two groups arrived at a large, dirt covered field. Rocks were littered around the field, and there were lines dug into the ground to make a large rectangle on the ground.

"These are the grounds. Competitors are not to leave the boundaries. You will be given five minutes, and afterwards, the first competition will start," Timoteo said.

As the Varia gathered around Xanxus, the leader looked at each of his subordinates, his _comrades _in the eyes. "You will defeat this scum. You will grind their faces into the dirt and you will slaughter each of them. None of you will lose your lives. Do you understand?" Xanxus hissed at them, and Tsuna had to hide a grin. Xanxus really did care. "If you are about to lose your lives, you will _forfeit. _Do I make myself clear, shitty trash?"

There was surprised silence. Bewildered glances were exchanged before there was a loud snort.

"Something to say, trash?" Xanxus growled at Squalo, who snorted again and smirked.

"You don't need to worry, shitty boss. We'll win this fucking competition, and you'll get your throne," the swordsman said, his grin full of sharp teeth.

"Fucking trash, don't get overconfident," Xanxus growled, his hand clenching and unclenching. Tsuna could imagine the wine glass that would have been thrown at Squalo's head had Xanxus had one.

"Don't worry, boss, I'll make sure not to die, just for you," Lussuria winked, and Xanxus shuddered slightly.

"Just get out there, scum," Xanxus muttered.

Lussuria waved and stepped over the line dug into the earth. As Federico stepped over the line as well, a transparent blue wall grew from the lines and stretched upwards before levelling off, creating an enclosed cage. Nothing could get in, and nothing could get out.

Tsuna was feeling queasy and worried.

Timoteo stepped towards the cage, and he raised his hand.

"The battle will begin…now."

The hand dropped, and the battle began.

XxX

Lussuria panted, taking the risk of wiping away a bead of sweat that was slipping down his face and wincing as he jarred his knee. He'd heard an ominous crack earlier, and that hadn't boded well for him. His footwork was already suffering from pain that was crawling up his knee, and the metal plate over his knee had long ago detached and lay forgotten somewhere among the carnage of the field.

His opponent wasn't in any better condition. Federico had bruises all up his left side, left from kicks that he hadn't managed to dodge, and a swollen eye that was fixed in a squinted glare at him. Lussuria doubted he could see out of it.

The field was in similar shape. There were ditches and patches of upturned dirt where Lussuria's knee had slammed into the ground and where Federico had punched. The potential heir's body was deceptively strong. His wiry frame held speed, and with his speed came short bursts of power that could occasionally even outmatch Lussuria's footwork. He needed to end this soon, before his pain overcame him and exhaustion overtook him.

"What, tired already?" Federico taunted, lips pulled into a nasty grin. His split lip bled sluggishly. "I'd have thought that the martial arts specialist of your little upstart group would be a little more skilled. I'm disappointed."

"It's the Varia, honey, not 'little upstart group'," Lussuria corrected, shifting into a more ready position. He launched himself at Federico, who dodged. Lussuria began to move at swift speeds, creating heat behind him and distorting the air. Federico blinked his good eye in an attempt to get rid of the hazy afterimages that Lussuria left due to the head he produced and his speed. Finally, in frustration, Federico snarled and jammed an elbow out, smirking victoriously when it made contact with Lussuria's stomach. The muay thai artist grabbed the elbow and winced before throwing Federico off of his feet and into the transparent wall that surrounded their arena.

"You're all like human babies. You'll get crushed in the big bad tengu world. I'm sure that little human in your group will die. What is your leader, stupid for letting him be a competitor?" Federico coughed and rose to his feet in an instant. He spread his feet and dashed towards Lussuria. Their forms blurred, travelling at such high speeds that their forms were not clearly visible.

Lussuria snickered and summoned his wings. He rose into the air on black feathers and dove towards Federico. Federico's own wings, black as night, burst from his back, and the two clashed midair.

"I think you'd be surprised by Tsuna-chan. He's strong," Lussuria answered, bringing his knee up. He missed Federico by millimeters and paid for his mistake with a punch in the ribs. He felt another ominous crack and cursed in his head.

"He may be strong for a human, but even the strongest human will struggle against the weakest tengu with his wings unleashed," Federico shot back, and Lussuria couldn't deny that statement. Even if Tsuna did face the weakest of Enrico's bunch, he would still struggle.

Lussuria spotted a gap in Federico's defenses and twirled midair, leg out in a roundhouse kick. Federico grabbed the leg, and Lussuria noticed his error. Federico had left that side open on purpose and had expected the kick. Now Lussuria was trapped in Federico's grasp, hands at an alarming position along his leg. He had a very, very bad feeling about this.

"But perhaps you should stop worrying about his inevitable death and focus on yours, hm?" Federico stretched his lips, and his face became inhuman. His irises became beady black, and feathers sprouted over his face. "You're done for."

And with the leg in his hands, Federico snapped it. Bone protruded from the skin, and a rain of blood splattered the dirt ground, which sucked it up greedily. Strips of flesh clung to the white bone.

Lussuria screamed and dropped like a rock onto the ground. He curled into a fetal position and clutched at his leg. His heart thundered in his ears, and all he could feel was pain, pain, pain, so much blood on ivory bone and _fuck_, he must look so ugly right now.

His eyes caught Xanxus's, and somehow, through his pain, he saw worried eyes. He thought he could read something, worry, anger, desperation. He gritted his teeth, and his eyes shifted to Tsuna's. _Forfeit_, the expressive orbs demanded, so dark on the paled skin of his face.

_"If you are about to lose your lives, you will _forfeit."

And suddenly, Lussuria was very grateful for Tsuna, who had managed to help Xanxus, the ice king, melt and start to care. The Xanxus from two years ago wouldn't have given a shit about Lussuria's death, but if he could read his boss's expression correctly (and he was very good at reading expressions), he could see worry. Xanxus had given him permission to forfeit.

"I'll kill you now," a voice announced overhead, and he saw a boot descending towards his head.

Lussuria would_ live_. He may not have won this battle, but he was positive that everyone else would win the war.

He brought his hands up with the last of his strength and blocked the foot that was about to crush his skull and splatter his brains all over the ground.

"I forfeit."

Federico's expression changed from glee to confusion to anger in seconds. He seethed, and his lips pulled back into a growl. He brought his foot up again, intent on breaking Lussuria's hands as well as ending his life.

There was a whirlwind, and suddenly, Timoteo was right beside his potential heir, arm gripped warningly on Federico's arm.

"He has forfeited. You've won this match, do not dishonor yourself for killing an opponent that has given in," Timoteo warned, eyes narrowed, and Federico shook off the grip angrily and turned around.

"Whatever, old man. I've won. Proves that their little group was nothing to worry about anyways," the lanky tengu said, and his feathers retreated, and he returned to his own team.

Lussuria breathed and looked at the sky. He felt the sun warming his face, and he closed his eyes.

He'd lost, but he was alive, and he would live to fight again.

XxX

"It was a clean break," a dark skinned woman with pink hair and the strangest mask said. She had introduced herself as a member of the Cervello, an independent organization in the mythical world that judged fairly. Yuki-onna, Squalo had growled. They had been summoned to make sure that the competition was judged impartially. "Lussuria-san will be taken to recover in a safe environment. The next competition will begin at noon."

Xanxus snarled. "Leave trash."

The yuki-onna only nodded and jumped away into the trees.

Tsuna trembled, the scene still replaying over and over in his head. He saw the hands that had grabbed Lussuria's leg, his intuition had screamed at him, and then he'd seen protruding white bone, strips of flesh, and Lurruia plummeting to the ground in pain. He'd seen Lussuria's eyes searching desparately for Xanxus and then glancing over at Tsuna before relaxing. Tsuna wasn't quite sure what Lussuria had been thinking, but he was relieved that the martial artist had forfeited before his opponent had flattened his skull.

"I'll murder them," Xanxus snarled, and Squalo shot him a look.

"Voi, shitty boss, don't get too excited. You've still got another day," Squalo barked, and he received a whack on the back of his head for his efforts.

Xanxus turned his head towards the other team.

"Shishishi, it looks like Rasiel's puppy will be fighting next," Bel laughed.

"His puppy?" Tsuna forcefully dragged himself out of his memories. He prayed he wouldn't nearly lose his lunch with this match as he nearly had with Lussuria's.

"Olgert, the loyal butler to the fake prince-senpai's family for practically forever. He has magic that can tranquilize his opponent. How cowardly," Fran explained in his monotone. "Of course fake prince-senpai's butler would be that lame."

"Shishishi, want to repeat that?" Bel asked, his fingers playing with his knives.

"You, fucking trash," Xanxus interrupted, pointing his hand towards Levi. The man straightened obediently, expectant and excited. "You'll be facing that trash."

"I won't lose, boss!" Levi said obediently.

Squalo shook a disgusted head. "Fucking suck up."

Levi bristled and looked over to the silver haired man. "What did you say, you stupid fish?"

"Fish?!" Squalo exclaimed, waving his sword again. "I'll show you who's the fish when I'm done with you!"

"You're supposed to leave him for the opponent," Fran drawled. "If you beat up the creepy pervert, who's going to take his place?"

"Who's the creepy pervert, you fucking frog?!"

Tsuna felt the arguing wash over him, and he felt determination well up where uncertainty was. The Varia still had their hopes and confidence. Lussuria was fine and on his way to recovery. Tsuna had to be strong too.

"The second match will begin in five minutes. We will be travelling to the arena now. Get your combatants ready," a Cervello announced, melting in and out of the shadows like snow.

Xanxus grunted and followed Timoteo to the next arena. As Tsuna emerged from the tree line, he saw a large lake and a shore. Half of the box that would form the cage was in the lake, and the other half was on the shore.

"Fucking crush them, trash," Xanxus said, and he unceremoniously shoved Levi over the line. Olgert calmly stepped over the line, and the pale blue walls once again slammed upwards, forming the cage.

"The second battle will now begin."

Timoteo's hand dropped, and Levi pulled out the umbrellas strapped to his back. Lightning zapped from each umbrella, and he planted them in the soft sand.

"You're going down, old man," Levi taunted, overconfident. Olgert only raised an eyebrow, and blue flames washed over his hands.

"I'm afraid you are the one who will be losing," the older man responded.

Levi threw his hands out, and lightning zapped from the umbrellas to Olgert. Blue flames washed over the electricity, immediately drowning it. Levi gaped unattractively, and Olgert tutted.

"You're going to lose miserably at this rate."

Olgert ambled towards Levi calmly, hands out and ready to calm any shocks that headed his way. The blue flames slowly crawled over the sand like slow moving molasses, and Levi knew that if they reached him, he'd be done for. He snarled angrily and looked downwards. His eyes brightened, and he aimed his electricity at the sand.

The fine grains turned into an orange, molten mass, and as the lake's water ran over it, cooled into slippery clear glass. Levi channeled his electricity towards Olgert, and the sand gradually turned into glass. Olgert tsked and merely calmed the electricity with his tranquilizing flames.

"Whatever you think of, you can't get past my flames," Olgert said calmly, and Levi grinned.

"You think?" he asked happily and he laughed. Olgert blinked and had to duck when Levi lobbed a sharp shard of cooled glass at his head.

"Your flames can stop my lightning, and it can stop me, but can it stop glass?" Levi asked tauntingly.

Beside Tsuna, Squalo raised an eyebrow. "Huh, I didn't think the stupid Neanderthal had that much brain power."

Tsuna had to hold back a snort at the very unkind comment.

Levi kept creating glass near his feet and throwing them at Olgert, who had gained several bruises and tears in his clothes from the differently shaped shards.

"How about this?" the butler asked and spread his flames quickly towards Levi, preventing any lightning from reaching the sand. Levi stumbled as he felt his feet grow dumb as the blue flames licked at his legs. He toppled into the lake water, and as he surfaced from the murky water, he spotted the umbrella that Olgert had walked past. The old man's eyes were trained on Levi and not on his surroundings.

"You should watch your surroundings, old man!" Levi called, and he summoned electricity from the umbrella. The electricity struck Olgert in the back, who had only been focused on spreading flames in front of him, and Olgert's muscles seized. The old man also fell into the water.

With all his willpower, he summoned electricity and electrocuted the water.

Distinctly, Levi heard a hoarse scream, and he laughed triumphantly. He danced out of the water.

"I think I won this, old man!" Levi boasted. When no call was issued from either Timoteo or the Cervello, Levi turned angrily towards them. "Hey, I said I won!"

"I don't think that's for you to decide," a voice growled from behind him, and Levi turned, eyes wide and fear in his face when he saw a hand glowing with blue flames descending towards his neck.

The instant the flames made contact with his skin, Levi choked.

"I think it's you who needs to watch your surroundings," Olgert said calmly. He looked twitchy, as if electricity was still running through his body, and his hands twitched, but the blue flames were still steady at his neck. Levi couldn't breathe, the flames were relaxing his muscles and slowing his heart. He felt his neck going numb, and gray encroached on his vision.

At this rate, he would die.

"Fer…fit…I…forfeit…!" Levi chocked, panicking. He couldn't summon electricity with the flames slowly spreading through his body.

The hand removed itself.

"You may forfeit, but can you survive the aftereffects of my flames?" he heard distinctly, and his felt himself drowning under black that was quickly spreading across his vision and his body.

XxX

"_You will tell me how to counteract your fucking flames, or I will gut you and shove them so far down your throat you will be shitting them for weeks_," Xanxus snarled, holding Olgert's collar and tightening them.

"Xanxus, let go of him," Timoteo demanded, eyes narrowed. "You will be disqualified at this rate. Release him this instant."

With a wordless growl, Xanxus threw the old man to the ground. Olgert coughed, his hands grabbing at his own throat. He could still feel the wrathful energy that had flowed out of Xanxus, energy that his own very potent tranquilizing flames could not calm. His hands traced the burn around his neck.

"Xanxus, Ryohei could do something," Tsuna said, pulling at the incensed boss's arm. Xanxus rounded on him.

"Bring her."

"You cannot bring a god into the tengu compound until the matches have ended," Timoteo countered. He gazed at Tsuna. The human boy knew the gods? How interesting.

"Then we can bring him out. We still have another couple of hours before the next match, right?" Tsuna asked, turning his eyes onto the current head. Timoteo could see resolve in those eyes.

"…yes, you do. Be back by three, if you're late, you will be disqualified," Timoteo warned.

"Let's go," Xanxus brushed past Tsuna and gestured at Squalo to bring their currently comatose and drooling teammate. "Bring the trash."

Squalo grumbled and scowled before picking up Levi carelessly and slinging him over his back with a disgusted sigh.

As Ryohei treated Levi and Tsuna was greeted by the other gods, Tsuna couldn't help but feel a pit of helplessness in his stomach, even with rough and degrading reassurances (were those even a thing?) from Reborn. If the other team could wreck this much damage on Levi and Lussuria, how would he ever survive against his own opponent?

XxX

A/N: I know for a fact that this chapter was very sloppy. I haven't been writing because I'd been out of town, so I had to get back in the groove. I'm honestly not too happy with this, and I know for a fact that the ending sucks, but I felt like I had to get this out for you guys. Once again, review, point out grammar mistakes, comment on how well written this chapter was, tell me what you hated, what you liked, etc. I honestly won't be offended if you say this chapter was sloppy, I totally agree. I can't write fighting scenes, and they all make sense in my head, but to you readers they might make no sense. Tell me, and I'll try to clarify the fighting scenes.

Thank you, and review! My ego blob hasn't grown enough. It needs more reviews. It's like a zombie that wants more brains.

A/N 2: Thanks everyone who reviewed to tell me that I replaced Levi's name with Lussuria's. Silly mistake, my bad!

Best regards,

haplessgrapefrut


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Wow, chapter 10 already! I feel like I should celebrate or something...ten chapters, in little over...a month? Three per day? ...why do I feel like I just mathed so, so wrong. I definitely did not write ten chapters in little over a month. Maybe it was a month and a half? Is this a good pace? Good length for chapters?

Anyways, I updated my songfic fic (although I feel like nobody reads it...cough shameless self promotion going on here), and so now I'm updating this. Also also also...I have several ideas for new fics (sorry, my mind tends to wander a lot), so what do you guys think? Post some experimental fics up now, like their first chapters or so, and then update them as I get inspiration, or just single mindedly trek through one until it's completely done, and then start another? Gimme your opinions. One's an male!OC fic (slash pairing), another's a Byakuran-centric (I almost typed Byakuya) fic, and I'm toying with the idea of an R27 fic based off of the manga Kurohime (magic bullets, gun wielders, go look it up, it's pretty good), which I would write first if I wanted to start another one.

Also, holy shit, I just finished Decaying Bluebells by Darkpetal16. I had to cradle a kleenex box in my hand while I read the ending. So sad. For you Naruto fans, I highly recommend it. It's a self-insert, but for those of you who hate those, give it a chance.

Anyways, on with the story!

(Does anybody read A/N's, anyways?)

XxX

"Stop being a wimp, Dame-Tsuna. You'll win yours," Reborn said carelessly, examining her fingernails. She flicked a bit of dirt out of one, astounded that it managed to even cake itself between her nail and flesh. "If you don't act like a man in the next five seconds, I will kick you."

Such a threat was not to be taken lightly.

Tsuna breathed in slowly, trying to ground himself. He tried to remind himself that if he really couldn't handle his own battle, then he could just forfeit. But if he lost, that would force the rest to win their matches, since the one who would succeed as head of the tengu clan would have to win four out of the seven matches. That would put them in a precarious position. Tsuna had to get that one win to lessen the pressure on his teammates.

He felt something whack his head, and he cried out.

"What was that for, Reborn?!"

Reborn shrugged. "You were thinking."

Tsuna gaped at her. Reborn only smirked and hummed.

"We'll be going in ten minutes. Get ready, runt," Xanxus walked up to Tsuna and grunted. "The trash will be fine, we need to focus on the rest of the matches."

Tsuna glanced at Levi, who was still comatose, and Lussuria, who'd been brought along with the fallen lightning user. Lussuria, at least, was conscious, though he looked to be in pain.

Noticing Tsuna's gaze, Lussuria only waved slightly. "Go ahead and win your match, dear. I'll be fine!"

Tsuna huffed a laugh and turned to Xanxus. "I'd rather go now. We need to know who on their team is going next, right?"

Xanxus nodded wordlessly. "Let's go."

Tsuna felt several small things barrel into his back, and he turned his head to catch glimpses of blue, brown, black, and silver hair.

"Tsunayoshi-kun, shall I put a spell on you so that you will win your next match?" Mukuro landed on Tsuna's shoulder and asked in a velvet voice. "Of course, I'll have to ask something in return. Preferably some…hm…_skin to skin _contact, yes?"

To Mukuro's great distress and aggravation, he was quickly shoved off by Lambo. "Don't you dare touch Tsuna-nii-san, you slimy pervert!" he howled angrily, arcs of electricity zapping from his body to Tsuna's hair and making it wilder. Tsuna grimaced and tried to flatten it.

"Why, I'm only looking after Tsunayoshi. It's what people who care for each other do."

"He doesn't need your special brand of looking after!'

"Hey, Tsuna-chan, good luck, alright?" Kyoko said sweetly, talking over the two arguing gods. "You don't have to win, Xanxus already said, and I'm sure nobody will hold it against you if you lose, okay?"

It was exactly that that made Tsuna uneasy. The fact that nobody was expecting much from him, the fact that he was the only one who was really allowed to lose, that grated on his nerves.

"I'm still going to do my best," he said determinedly.

Kyoko only smiled. "I know you will."

"Haha, you'll do EXTREMELY fine! You might not even fight today, so just relax!" Ryohei cheered, whacking Tsuna on the back enthusiastically.

Tsuna nodded. It was true, he probably wouldn't even fight. There was only one more match left, and if either Tyr or Rasiel was going, then Squalo or Bel were guaranteed to fight.

He received a grudging "good luck" from Hayato and delivered a beaming smile in return. The fire god turned pink and scowled, and Takeshi patted him on the back and laughed.

"Good luck, Tsuna!" Takeshi grinned, and Tsuna smiled again.

"We're going, runt," Xanxus said, long ago sick of all the pleasantries and cheers coming from the group of gods.

Tsuna nodded before scanning for Reborn and Kyoya. Reborn was still examining her nails, and Kyoya was resting under a tree. However, they both made brief eye contact, and Tsuna felt his nerves settle even more.

"Yeah, let's go."

As they were about to leave, Mammon puffed into existence before Xanxus, and the boss made a move to swat away the god.

"Tell that replacement illusionist to win his match, or he'll owe me money," Mammon commanded, and Xanxus bristled.

"Who are you to order me around, trash?"

Mammon only lifted the corner of his permanently downturned mouth. "Good luck, Boss."

Xanxus snorted and turned away.

"I don't need your luck. We'll win this."

It escaped nobody's notice that Xanxus had said 'we' and not 'I'. Mammon covered his mouth to hide his smirk.

_I have no doubt you will._

XxX

"Shishishi, you took care of the invalids?" Bel asked upon their return.

"They're so weak. Now I have to pick up the slack," Fran would have whined, but he did not do whining. He only droned and drawled.

Xanxus growled. "Shut up, trash. Your shitty older twin's going up next, fucking prince, get ready."

Bel perked up visibly, and his grin widened into a disturbing ear to ear smile. Tsuna would have sworn he saw a flash of eyes beneath the hair, and the sun glinted off of the prince's crown.

"Perfect," he purred, straightening out his black jacket and black and purple striped shirt. His fingers toyed with a knife. "This prince will show commoners where their places are."

Fran eyed the knife with a small amount of trepidation. "Maybe you should show yourself first, fake prince-senpai."

His worry was well founded, as a knife lodged itself in his hat with familiarity.

"Voi, just shut up and get ready!" Squalo interrupted, kicking at Bel, who snickered and dodged.

"The prince is _always _ready," the blond responded before slinking into the arena.

This time, the arena was in a canyon of sorts, with large rock cliffs on two opposing sides of the lines drawn into the dirt, and a pathway that cut through the rock. Bel strutted across the line, smile still wide, as his twin walked across the other line. The large, blue transparent walls once again slammed upwards, enclosing the two competitors in two blue walls and two rock cliffs. The top of the boxed cage ended before the cliffs levelled off.

"Shesheshe, ready, brother of mine?" Rasiel taunted.

Bel replied, sharp as a dagger. "Always."

They both stood as if balancing on a wire, tense and ready to move at a second's notice.

"The third battle will now begin."

At the signal, Bel pulled out several knives. They soared towards Rasiel, who agilely dodged them. His back burst into black feathers, and the man soared into the air. His flapping wings kept him steady as he grinned.

"You really think such petty attacks will hurt me, brother?" Rasiel asked, amused. He tilted his head, and destructive red flames surrounded his whole body. Bel's smile slightly dropped, and he eyed the older twin warily.

"Have a taste of this then!"

Red balls of fire burst towards Bel, who unfurled his own wings and flew into the air, sweeping between each projectile and countering with his own knives. They embedded themselves into the canyon walls as Rasiel swooped between them, hands flaming. He hurtled towards the younger twin, arm outstretched, and a lick of fire raced on Bel's shoulder as he maneuvered in the air in an attempt to dodge. Rasiel landed behind Bel, who was frozen in the air, eyes wide behind his hair and shoulder bleeding from disintegration.

"Shesheshe, have you frozen in fear, brother?" Rasiel asked, readying more destructive flames and preparing to hurl them at the immobile man. "Then taste death!"

Rasiel readied himself before pausing himself. His smile dropped, and a frown replaced it. There was a low chuckle, almost inaudible, before it grew louder and louder. Soon, Bel was outright laughing, hysterical and maniacal. His hand lifted to swipe at the blood from his shoulder, and he brought the hand to his lips, tasting the coppery fluid on his fingers. Bel's grin grew wider, and he turned his head to look at Rasiel.

"Injured! You've injured the prince," Bel said gleefully. Knives appeared around Bel, floating in the air and covered in their own red flames. "It's been so long since I've been injured. I'm excited!"

The daggers all aimed towards Rasiel and shot towards him. Rasiel hurled his fireballs at the knives in an attempt to deflect, but the metal only cut through them, still heading towards the older twin. Bel and Rasiel had to dodge the projectiles that flew through the air, knives and fire hurtling towards each other at an amazing speed, and the arena grew more and more ragged, pockmarks appearing on the canyon walls and knives imbedded into every surface.

"Looks like I'll have to kill you now, brother. This fight is dragging out too long," Rasiel said, disappointed in himself. To have to fight on an equal level with his younger twin, it was demeaning. He'd have to finish this quickly. "Be prepared to die!"

Rasiel opened his mouth, and an unearthly shriek tore through the air. Although not deafening, the sound was eerie and unnatural. Bel tilted his head in confusion before snorting.

"That's the best you can do?" Bel asked, throwing more knives at his brother. Suddenly, it became much harder to aim, and Bel's vision began doubling. A dull pain, slowly increasing, began in his ears and head, and he staggered in the air and crashed into a canyon wall. "W-what?"

"Whoever hears this scream will be disoriented, and if exposed long enough, will die," Rasiel said, grin widening. "Prepare yourself, brother, for I shall now get rid of the stain in our family."

Bel's eyes widened before he collapsed in pain, ears bleeding and brain threatening to burst out of his skull. He peered at his brother through teary eyes. Rasiel was floating in the middle of the arena, hand outstretched, on final fireball on the tip of his finger and ready to fire.

"Goodbye, brother."

"I should be saying that."

Rasiel's eyebrows shot up before he felt wires cutting into his skin, jerking his hand up and making him shoot the fireball towards the ceiling, where it fizzed against the blue wall harmlessly.

"What?!"

Bel grinned and tightened the wires in his hand. Now that Rasiel studied the arena carefully, he saw sunlight glinting off of thin, nearly invisible wires that were connected to the various knives embedded in the ground and walls. He screamed wordlessly and struggled forwards, wires cutting even more deeply into his skin. One wire threatened to slice his neck, and he stopped struggling.

"Do you even have the strength to tighten your trap even more?" Rasiel asked. Bel had long ago started to lose consciousness. Black was creeping around the edges of his vision, but the younger twin refused to let the deathly scream kill him. He tightened the wires in his hands in response, and the wire near Rasiel's neck began slowly cutting into his throat.

With one last bout of energy, Bel yanked his wires, and blood spurted into the air. The wires loosened around Rasiel's body, and the blond hurtled towards the ground. His dead weight hit the ground, grin gone from his face and limbs motionless.

"Rasiel has been terminated by Belphegor. Belphegor wins," a Cervello intoned, and the blue walls fell.

Bel looked up at the sky, blue and so pure. His grin turned genuine, and as he turned his gaze onto Squalo, who was stomping towards the blond with a murderous (and worried) expression, his grin widened.

"Hah…"

He closed his eyes as warm arms wrapped around him, and he let himself drop away.

XxX

"He's still alive, shitty boss, stop hovering!" Squalo snapped, to which Xanxus hit his second in command in response.

Tsuna was also hovering, but Squalo didn't have the heart to reprimand the shitty brat. The doe eyes scanned Bel's bleeding ears and waxen skin before he said, "We should head back to Ryohei. She can heal him, and we can rest for tomorrow."

Fran frowned. "Too bad the fake prince-senpai didn't die."

"Don't say that!" Tsuna scolded the younger teen, who only lazily blinked at Tsuna before shrugging.

"Let's go, trash," Xanxus growled and began heading off of the compound grounds. Behind him, the other three and one unconscious man followed.

Timoteo followed his grandson with his eyes, expression thoughtful. The child had grown when he hadn't realized it, and what a man he'd grown into. Gruff on the outside, Xanxus hid a grudgingly caring heart, although still ruthless when need be. Timoteo was under no illusions that Xanxus would let the world burn if it didn't affect him, but he'd burn the world himself if those under his strong wings were hurt.

And the change was most likely thanks to that small human beside him.

Timoteo's lips twitched upwards in satisfaction. Yes, should Xanxus win the tournament, Timoteo would have no regrets leaving the tengu clan in his capable hands.

"I can't believe that half-breed's team beat us."

But if Enrico were to win, Timoteo would be very, very cautious.

"Enrico," Timoteo admonished, turning his gaze onto his eldest son. "Although he is only half tengu, he still deserves respect, and I will not tolerate any malicious condescension towards him."

Enrico snorted. "You can't truly believe that Xanxus will be a good leader?"

"I do believe that he could become one, yes," Timoteo returned, eyes narrowing. "Do not grow lax, Enrico. Xanxus has the chance of beating your team."

Enrico raised an eyebrow doubtfully before turning back to his team. Rasiel's remains were being carried out by the Cervello. The tengu sneered in disgust and shook his head.

"He was useless," Enrico muttered before stalking back towards his team.

Yes, Timoteo would be very cautious indeed.

XxX

Tsuna sat at the table, chin propped on his arms and staring blearily at nothing. He replayed the day's events in his mind: the look of pain on Lussuria's face, the terror on Levi's, and Bel's deranged look morphing into a waxen, peaceful one. It was terrifying, the fact that this could be him tomorrow. He had every possibility of losing, and very little of winning. Against such speed and strength, such powers and magic, Tsuna, with his limited hand to hand combat skills, had no chance.

Why in the _world _had Reborn and Kyoya volunteered him for this? They should know that Tsuna was human, that he had nothing to offer to the table other than perhaps cannon fodder. He would be torn to pieces in front of his opponent, stabbed and…

A powerful kick sent his head slamming onto the table, and he howled in pain.

"Reborn!" he shrieked when he saw black slacks and pitiless black eyes.

"You're thinking again. For Dame-Tsuna, such activities are useless. You don't have that much brain power for it," Reborn commented, tilting her head. "You should be doing something more productive."

"Like what? I can't train and be too tired, and mostly everybody's asleep!"

"Then why don't you sleep?"

Tsuna fell silent, and he felt something flutter in his stomach. "I-I can't."

"And why not?"

Tsuna whined a little in protest that Reborn would keep questioning him but answered nonetheless.

"I'm nervous. About tomorrow. I…Reborn, I don't think I can win this."

Reborn only hummed, gazing at her student with a gentleness that Tsuna did not notice, too immersed in his own issues to pay attention to the goddess who'd appointed herself as his mentor.

If Reborn had to find the epitome of fluidity, she would never pick Tsuna. Tsuna, rough around the edges, too clumsy and prone to stuttering, would never become someone like Reborn: refined, eloquent, fluid in movements. However, this was precisely why Reborn looked after Tsuna, taught him in the movements in fighting and the standards of speech. She tutored this man, who drew everyone into his heart despite his obvious flaws, compassion filling all the little cracks of imperfection in his body and flooding out to fill the cracks of other people's as well. Being around someone who could do so was so much better than the most graceful human on earth.

She patted his head, erasing her smile when he lifted his head to gaze at her with worried eyes and replacing it with cold amusement.

Tsuna may not be the strongest, but he was determined, stubborn, and had a will of fire. He had a very small possibility of winning, Reborn knew, but the fact that he was fighting, that he'd agreed, that he'd let Reborn and Kyoya push him to this circumstance told her that he was not yet strong enough to stand for himself, only for others. She wanted him to get even stronger, to see this small flame turn into a raging inferno, unopposable and relentless. And to do this, she had to pit him against something that he'd have to struggle with his life to fight. She was risking his life, she knew, but should things turn out bad, she had faith that Xanxus would pull out Tsuna safely, and Tsuna would only grow stronger with such an experience. Losing would make him determined to become stronger, and winning would gain him the confidence he needed.

"Reborn?"

Reborn looked down, surprised that she'd managed to lose herself in her thoughts so much.

"You're falling behind on your college work, Dame-Tsuna."

"E-eh?!"

Reborn whacked him, smirking when he whined.

"You're behind in your work for all of your classes. Fortunately, I took the liberty of collecting everything you need to finish it. Tonight. So, let's start, Dame-Tsuna."

Tsuna wailed at the fact that he was letting misery and misery pile upon him, but resigned himself to the stacks of paper that needed to be completed in front of him.

And if Reborn was a little more gentle, a little less of a raging madwoman, and if Tsuna realized that Reborn was only trying to take his mind off of the next day, he didn't mention it.

XxX

The next morning, Tsuna woke, went through his morning routine, and went down to breakfast, he somehow managed to forget his nerves when a certain illusionist crashed into his midriff.

"You don't have to go, Tsunayoshi. Come, stay with me, I'll protect and…ah…_embrace _you forever," Mukuro said, eyes smiling deviously. Behind him, Chrome blushed at his suggestive voice, although she seemed fully supportive of his words.

"Keep your grabby hands to yourself, shitty illusionist," Hayato growled, looking offended on Tsuna's behalf, since Tsuna was only succeeding in looking mildly disturbed but too used to the situation.

Takeshi only laughed and nudged Hayato in the ribs. "Aw, look, you're starting to care for him!"

"You don't even care for him, idiot baseball freak," Hayato hissed back, reddening, and as Tsuna turned to try to fend off an overenthusiastic Ryohei and encouraging Kyoko, Takeshi's wide grin faded into a smaller, gentler one.

"I didn't want to, but it's hard not to, neh?"

Hayato looked grudgingly at the human and grunted.

Takeshi took that as an agreement.

"Remember, Xanxus says that you can forfeit, alright?" Kyoko fussed, tugging at Tsuna's hair and inspecting his clothes as if she were his mother. Tsuna allowed it, eyes warm.

"Yeah," he agreed.

"But I know you'll do EXTREMELY well!" Ryohei encouraged, and Tsuna laughed.

"Tsuna-nii-chan, I know you can do it!" Lambo cheered, grinning up at his pseudo older brother.

Tsuna looked away and reddened. "I'm not sure if I will win this, but I'll definitely try my best."

"Hn," Kyoya grunted, settling back in his tree and closing his eyes.

"It's okay, I will comfort you if you lose. I'll always be here for you, you don't need that skylark or anyone's approval," Mukuro purred, causing Kyoya to open his eyes dangerously and growl.

"What did you just say, herbivore?"

"Well, I can comfort and _physically train _Tsunayoshi in a totally different and more productive way," Mukuro grinned, trident appearing in his hand as Kyoya whipped out his tonfas.

Tsuna paled, unwilling to see the ensuing fight, and when he saw Xanxus, Fran, and Squalo, he immediately dashed over and tugged Xanxus's sleeve.

"Let's go," he muttered, and Xanxus only shot him a warning glance and tugged his sleeve out of Tsuna's hands.

"I can walk, runt. Let's go, trash."

Reborn smiled from her branch, fedora shadowing her eyes. She lifted it and crossed her arms.

"Good luck, Tsuna."

XxX

"The second day of competitions will begin. Please choose your combatants," Timoteo said, looking at Enrico, who smirked confidently, and Xanxus, who only looked over the rest of his group apathetically.

He scanned each one. Squalo would go against Tyr, that was no argument, but who would Xanxus face Massimo and Birds against? He glanced over at the other team, who seemed to be ushering Birds forwards. Perhaps…Massimo was rumored to be incredibly weak, perhaps the weakest out of Enrico's whole team.

"Illusion trash, you're up next," Xanxus said, gesturing towards Fran lazily before lounging back against a tree. Fran looked at his boss before sighing.

"This is going to be such a bore…" Fran said in a monotone, glancing over at Birds. His nose scrunched a bit, and he whined, "I don't want to go against the creepy pervert, Boss."

"Voi, too bad, you're doing it. Now get out there!" Squalo roared, kicking Fran straight into the middle of the grassy clearing that would be the next arena. Fran pouted, turning his head, which was flat on the ground, and looking behind his raised butt.

"Stupid shark-senpai nearly killed me, Boss. I should file for child abuse," Fran said, and Squalo brandished his sword threateningly.

"If you think this is child abuse, I'll show you filicide!"

"Maa, I didn't know you knew such a word, senpai."

Tsuna brought his hand to his face and dragged it downwards. They didn't seem concerned at all. He glanced at Xanxus's hardened face, which was slowly becoming more and more livid. It was like they weren't even worried their lives were on the line.

Timoteo coughed, and Tsuna sighed. Even a comedy act could go so far in such a serious situation.

"The fourth battle will now begin."

Blue walls slammed upwards around Birds and Fran. Fran was still on the ground, looking upwards at the older man blandly.

"…creepy."

Birds twitched before grinning. "Oh, I'm going to _enjoy _tearing you apart."

Fran frowned before climbing onto his feet and dusting stray bits of grass off of his clothes. He patted his frog hat, making sure it was clean, before blinking at Birds.

"Your nose is bleeding, creepy man," Fran deadpanned.

Birds absentmindedly wiped away the blood trickling from his reddening face, and his squinty eyes lit up gleefully.

"And you'll be bleeding soon as well!"

Suddenly, there were small yellow birds, thousands, filling the blue cage. They swooped around, and Fran eyed them.

"Are you planning on smothering me to death using feathers?" Fran asked, although his question didn't seem much like a question at all. His voice didn't change a bit in pitch.

"Oh, much better. I'm going to bomb you alive! I'm going to watch you scream as I take off your hands, and then your legs, and finally, your head as you scream and plead for mercy!" Birds said, getting redder and redder in the face. "So much excitement!"

Fran broke his blank façade for a particularly disgusted face. "Gross."

The small yellow birds chirped and swooped, feathers rustling and filling the clearing with sounds and movement. Fran turned his head and jumped deftly aside as a bird dive bombed him. It promptly blew up. Fran blinked as bloody yellow feathers drifted onto his hat before raising his hand. Dogs burst from the ground and tore into the cloud of yellow. More dogs clawed out of the ground, but as quickly as they were dispatching the feathered menaces, the birds blew up as quickly, dispelling the many illusions. The clearing was not only being covered by yellow birds, but also with purple smoke soon enough.

"I can't see the shitty kid," Squalo strained, narrowing his eyes in an attempt to peer through the chaos. Tsuna nibbled at his nail anxiously before tugging his hand down. Reborn would never forgive him if he started drawing blood.

Inside the cage, Birds took out a wicked knife and looked around. He closed his eyes, using his birds to sense the surroundings. And…right…there!

He thrust the knife backwards, hitting soft flesh and feeling blood drip between his fingers. He grinned and pulled the knife backwards, whirling around and stabbing the knife at Fran again.

"You're too obvious," Birds exclaimed, reveling in the smell of blood and the look of fright and pain on Fran's face. "Oh, that's a nice expression, let's see if we can make it better!"

Fran staggered backwards, blood trailing from his chest and stomach. He grimaced as his illusions disappeared due to his injuries, leaving bloody chaos and dead birds behind. Only one bird remained, chirping.

Tsuna gasped when he caught sight of Fran. He jerked forwards, but Squalo held him back.

"Don't do anything rash. If you break in there, Fran will be disqualified," the silver headed man said, eyes narrowed.

"He's going to die anyways! We have to do something!" Tsuna said desperately, and Squalo growled.

"Voi, he's stronger than he looks. Trust him," the swordsman said, although he looked distinctly pained for saying so.

Tsuna turned to see that Fran had deployed his wings, dragging his body through the air to avoid the a third knife strike. Birds summoned more birds, and Fran was obscured by a large cloud of birds. There was a pause before the birds all exploded in a blast of heat and light. As the smoke faded, all that was left was scraps of cloth that floated to the ground and charred feathers.

Birds tsked, disappointed. "I didn't get to see enough of his pained expression."

"And you won't get a chance to," a voice said behind his back, and Birds's eyes widened. He whirled around to see an uninjured Fran, looking entirely too bored with the whole affair. With a flick of his hand, three swords appeared and struck through Birds, instantly killing him. "You never even saw my real expression, pervert."

And it all clicked in Tsuna's head. The whole fight, everything that Fran had shown had been an illusion. His eyes widened, and he looked at the illusionist. So this was Mukuro's prodigy, with the skill and power to fool an entire audience as well as Birds.

Fran looked down at the torn remains of Birds with a cold and disgusted expression before it quickly morphed back into his apathetic mask.

"Birds has been terminated by Fran. Fran wins," a Cervello announced, and the blue walls fell, allowing Fran to leave the clearing. As he walked towards the group, he let a small satisfied smile grace his lips.

"Hah, at least you didn't nearly die," Squalo said, clapping Fran on the back forcefully, and Fran's content expression fell.

"Stupid shark-senpai, it would take a lot more than that to kill me."

Squalo didn't comment on the name and only snorted. Squalo turned to Tsuna and grimaced. "Guess you're up next, brat."

"M-me?" Tsuna stuttered, intimidated and wary. He felt butterflies rear up in his stomach, and his heart began beating faster.

"You're going against Massimo. The trash will want to save his strongest fighter for last, so I'll be against Tyr for the sixth match. Yours is next, in ten minutes. Get ready," Squalo said, glancing at Xanxus, who had his eyes closed. He rolled his eyes, and turned back to Tsuna. "We would prefer if you didn't lose, but I'll beat that trashy excuse for a swordsman, so…erm, no pressure."

Tsuna laughed breathlessly at Squalo's failed attempt at encouragement before biting his lips. He reached into his pocket and pulled out fingerless gloves that Reborn had given him before. They were red, with strong, steel pads on the back of each glove. There were silver strips that crossed each steel pad, making an X. He closed his eyes and calmed his heart, pulling on his gloves. He thought over the days he'd spent with Kyoya, of their unwavering faith in him, and the risk Xanxus was taking for allowing a human to fight on his team. He thought of Xanxus's burning passion, of his ambition to be acknowledged, and he thought of his own dream, to become strong enough to protect his friends.

When he opened his eyes, he was confident. There was an inner fire flickering within him, and when he looked at Squalo, the swordsman looked taken aback. Fran whistled, impressed.

"I'm ready," Tsuna said, and his voice was calmer, deeper, and much more assured.

"I don't doubt that," Squalo muttered.

Timoteo led them to the next area, a spot on the sandy beach that was near where Levi and Olgert fought, and Tsuna took in the surroundings, intuition pointing out advantages and disadvantages of the sand and the sun shining directly overhead. He walked into the center of the box that had been drawn into the sand, a rather portly tengu across from him.

Massimo laughed arrogantly. "So I'm against the human. This'll be way too easy."

Tsuna only looked at him, determination shining in his eyes.

The box's walls began rising, impenetrable, and closed off all access between the audience and the two fighters within.

Massimo unfurled his wings slowly. They were short, not nearly as elegant as the ones Tsuna had seen before, but they were built with enough power to lift Massimo into the air.

"The fifth battle will now begin."

XxX

A/N: My first cliffhanger. I'm so proud of myself. *sniffs*

Please review and tell me what you think! The next chapter will have Tsuna's awaited battle with Massimo. I hope you look forward to the next installment!

Best regards,

haplessgrapefrut


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: Not much to say other than sorry for the shitty fight scenes and my inability to describe inner turmoil.

I'll be gone for the first half of August, so I won't be updating during then, and I won't be able to write during then, either, so until I get back, there will be nothing from me. Sorry, but where I'm going offers no internet, and I can only pack the bare essentials, which unfortunately does not include my laptop.

Have fun reading!

XxX

Silence descended as Tsuna narrowed his eyes on Massimo. The tengu laughed.

"Are you scared of me, human?" Massimo taunted, hands drifting down to gun strapped to his waist. "Have you frozen in fear?"

Tsuna shook his head.

_Left!_

Tsuna threw himself to the left as a bullet cracked the ground right where Tsuna had been, spraying grains of sand everywhere. Massimo tsked and cocked his gun again, flying backwards to maintain distance between him and Tsuna.

Tsuna dashed forwards, relying on instincts and the subtle tells that Massimo's body gave to indicate where he was going to shoot next. Adrenaline flooded his body, and his eyesight as well as his mind sharpened. He saw the gun twitched and the trigger finger tighten. With a burst of speed, he dodged to the right, deftly avoiding another bullet.

"Stay still, you brat!" Massimo shouted, getting ready to fire another shot. Tsuna narrowed his eyes and dodged the next shot as well. He eyed the gun, wondering how many shots exactly Massimo had. Three bullets had been wasted, and hopefully, there wouldn't be many left. The next bullet clicked his cheek, and he scolded himself for his distraction.

Massimo grinned. "First blood. And your blood will be the only one spilt during this battle!"

Tsuna refocused on the gun hand, watching as Massimo took flight to stay away from the approaching human. Tsuna's only chance to defeat Massimo was if he could get close and personal. Massimo was obviously not very built physically, and his wings strained to lift him. He would only do well in a fight of distance, where he could safely shoot and leave Tsuna helplessly on the ground.

"Too bad you're just human, huh?" Massimo asked, shooting again and missing horribly.

This continued for a while, with Massimo continuously wasting bullets and Tsuna focusing on the gun hand, reading movements and dodging.

_Tsunayoshi, being physically capable is not enough. To become a truly experienced fighter, you must read your opponent, to predict their movements and to judge your next actions accordingly._ Kyoya's voice echoed in his mind. However, Tsuna had only one option at the moment: to dodge. This would be a test of endurance and speed versus the amount of bullets Massimo held.

The battle dragged on, and as the sun rose high in the sky, each combatant grew more and more weary. Massimo was aiming more haphazardly now, and Tsuna was slowly but surely gaining more and more wounds. The sand was working against him, as it shifted and turned underneath his foot, and he had to exert more and more energy to change directions. It seemed like a hopeless situation for the human.

Abruptly, the firing stopped, and Tsuna looked up to see Massimo's somewhat horrified expression. It seemed as if the tengu was finally out of bullets. Tsuna's intuition sparked, telling him something that he wasn't quite sure of, before slipping away, leaving the human strangely unsettled.

Tsuna allowed a relieved grin to appear on his face. Finally, Massimo had no choice other than to directly engage Tsuna now that he'd run out of ammunition. The only way for a victor to be declared was if they got up close and personal.

_Careful. Even the weakest tengu is still strong, Dame-Tsuna. Look for weaknesses, but trust that instinct of yours_.

Tsuna analyzed Massimo. The tengu was slow in the air and even slower on ground. However, should he put all of his weight behing a punch, Tsuna had no doubt that he would go flying. Speed Massimo did not have, but he had power.

Massimo landed on the ground, looking disappointed and a bit more apprehensive than before.

Tsuna didn't give him a chance to recover.

The human dashed forwards, sand spraying behind him. His hands, wrapped in their protective gloves, grabbed Massimo's arm and, using his momentum, flipped the tengu onto the ground. Tsuna did not have the heart to kill him, but he would make sure that the tengu would forfeit. He just had to intimidate and injure Massimo enough.

Massimo scrambled to his feet, lashing out with a meaty fist.

_Duck!_

Tsuna dropped to into a crouch and whipped out his leg, hitting the back of Massimo's knees and dropping the heavy tengu to the ground. He quickly put his foot on the back of Massimo's neck and pressed against it warningly.

"Forfeit, or I will snap your neck," Tsuna said, hoping dearly to the gods (well, they were his friends, so they _better _listen) that Massimo wouldn't call him out on his bluff. Tsuna wouldn't, couldn't willingly take a life. "Forfeit, for you own sake."

Massimo trembled beneath Tsuna and said, "Alright, alright, just don't snap my neck!"

Tsuna sighed in relief and took his foot off Massimo, ready to turn away and leave.

He didn't see Massimo's cunning eyes and shrewd smile, didn't see him raise his gun, cocked and ready to fire. He did, however, turn at the last second, eyes wide in surprise.

Massimo never ran out of bullets. That's what Tsuna's intuition had been trying to tell him, that Massimo still had one left, to not let his guard down, and now, that one wrong judgment was going to land a bullet between Tsuna's eyes. A handful of sand was thrown into Tsuna's eyes, blinding him momentarily, and Tsuna stumbled, erasing any chances he had of dodging the inevitable bullet.

"I never actually said I'd forfeit, though."

Tsuna felt dread settle in his stomach as Massimo laughed victoriously. There was a gunshot and a giant cracking sound, and Tsuna prepared for blackness to overtake him.

Seconds of stunned silence passed. Did…did Massimo _miss_?

Tsuna opened his eyes and rubbed them in an attempt to get the grit out to see Massimo equally as stunned, his gun laying several meters away, smoking and crumpled beyond recognition. Tsuna stared dumbly at it. Death had been at his front door, and to have it pushed so violently away was…numbing.

Tsuna looked out at his team to find the blue wall shattered, a large hole torn into the middle of the huge surface, and on the other side, Xanxus's smoking gun. Xanxus looked livid, and he cocked his gun again.

"Trash who lie and deceive should die like dogs," Xanxus snarled, ready to pull the trigger. Tsuna leapt to his feet. No, _no_, this was _his _match. He held a hand out, and Xanxus's eyes narrowed. Scars started spreading across his face, and Xanxus jerked his gun to the side.

"_Move, Tsunayoshi_."

"No," Tsuna replied, glancing out to see Timoteo, who had furrowed his brows. "Don't do this, you can't risk your chance and get disqualified!" he pleaded, turning to pin Massimo, trembling in true fear, with a tawny glare. "And you, don't do anything to antagonize Xanxus any more."

Massimo only nodded meekly.

Before Xanxus could take any further action, Timoteo boomed, "Due to interference from Xanxus, Tsuna is hereby disqualified from the matches, and the win goes to Massimo."

Tsuna breathed out, thoroughly disappointed in himself. How could have been so naïve as to let his guard down around a dangerous opponent? He shook his head as the walls fell around them and trudged to Xanxus, who had his narrow eyes trained on Massimo.

"Fucking _scum_," he growled vehemently, and even Squalo looked enraged. Fran had a blank face, although if Tsuna had looked deeper, there would have been a hidden disgust.

"If he was one of my subordinates, I'd gut him," Squalo said before wiping down his sword with a spare cloth he'd fished out of his leather jacket. "I'll take care of Tyr. The trash won't even know what hit him."

Tsuna shrank away from the three Varia members, huddling against a tree and sinking into a sitting position. He'd _lost_. Xanxus, Squalo, the rest of the Varia, the gods, they'd all put their trust in him, and he'd let them down. He'd never felt more horrible than he had at this moment in his life.

He'd let them down. H-he'd…

"Stop blaming yourself, runt. We prepared for this scenario, and we knew that you would lose. Reborn told me," Xanxus said as he offered a hand to the sitting human. Tsuna only stared at the large appendage, worn and shameful.

"Even Reborn didn't expect it of me, huh…" Tsuna muttered, and he yelped when a large hand cuffed his head. He looked up at Xanxus, who looked angrier.

"Tsunayoshi, it was we who decided that you were to enter. We took responsibility, and we all knew the most probable outcome of the situation. It was not your fault. Massimo was a sly, deceptive worm, complete and utter trash. You're much better than him," Xanxus said, pulling the human forcefully onto his feet and marching him to the next arena: a grassy plain, soft and flowing in the wind.

"Even you expected me to lose! Why did you let me fight, then? Why…" Tsuna ranted, feeling tears well up in his eyes. "I disappointed you!"

"No, you did _not_. Listen to me, runt!" Xanxus snapped, frustrated. "It wasn't your damn fault, got it? Reborn wanted you to gain experience, for you to grow as a fighter and as a man. You will face impossible scenarios, and she thought that this was a good opportunity for you to learn when to pick your battles. We agreed, and we let you fight because we trusted you. The only fault is ours, for not expecting you to forfeit when you should have and for underestimating how low that scum was.

"_I _trust you, Tsunayoshi, and that's why I wanted you as my last fighter. Because I was selfish, and I wanted one of my most important people to be beside me when I take this throne."

Tsuna felt his throat tighten, and he coughed, tears spilling over his cheeks. He gave a watery laugh, and when he glanced back up, he saw no anger in Xanxus's face, only a fierce expression.

"Even if I only lost you a match?"

"Even then," Xanxus said, but then he paused and scowled. "You would have won if you didn't have a bleeding heart."

Tsuna gave a more genuine laugh, and Xanxus looked faintly pleased that he'd managed to cheer up the human.

Timoteo drew their attention to find Squalo and Tyr, both with their swords out and grinning toothily at each other, already within the sealed blue cage. In addition to the transparent blue, though, there was a faint sheen of frost and ice, most probably a contribution of the Cervello.

"Hah. Their shitty wall needed to be reinforced," Xanxus snorted, smug at having shot through a nigh impenetrable wall. Tsuna shuddered at how much power Xanxus would have had to put into the shot to be able to do so.

He thanked the gods (it felt weird praying to the gods now, since he actually knew who they were) that Xanxus was his friend and not his enemy.

"The sixth battle will now begin!"

There was a flurry of activity, and before Tsuna's eyes could catch up with the movement, Tyr and Squalo were locked in combat, at each other's necks and snarling.

"Voi, you're going down, old man. Time for the new and better to rise!" Squalo shouted, and Tyr smirked.

"I'd like to see you try, brat."

Tsuna watched, unable to keep up with the fast movements of each combatant. He was only grateful he didn't have to fight Tyr.

"Beware the shark, scum!"

Squalo thrust his sword forwards in a series of rapid attacks, churning the air and forcing Tyr to back off to avoid being skewered to death. Tsuna's gaze was drawn to Tyr's left arm, which seemed too stiff for the rest of his flexible and strong body.

"What's wrong with his left arm?" Tsuna asked Xanxus, and surprisingly, it was Fran who spoke up.

"He doesn't have one. Neither does Squalo-senpai," Fran responded, and Tsuna turned his head, alarmed, to Squalo. He frowned when Squalo swung his left hand downwards, creating a rift in the ground, and Tyr jumped aside, swinging his own sword.

"He has a left arm…" Tsuna trailed off, trying to see any stiffness or unnaturalness to Squalo. Fran shook his head, and when he spoke, there was a tinge of respect.

"He doesn't have a left hand. He felt that, to defeat the Sword Emperor, who is missing his left arm, he had to even the odds and prove that, even with such a disability, he was stronger," Fran said, and at that moment, Tyr's sword grazed Squalo's left hand. The glove was torn off to reveal a mechanized hand.

_Ah, that's why he rarely took off his sword… _Tsuna realized.

"Oh? So you took your own left hand?" Tyr asked, amused. The two were panting slightly, eyes glued on each other as if the universe only revolved around them. Squalo smirked.

"Can't have you giving me a handicap, can I?" he asked. "It won't give you excuses when you lose!"

They clashed again, black wings twisting in the air and propelling bodies around the arena. Tyr was on the offensive, aiming at the left hand and trying to destroy it. Squalo parried, blocked, and dodged, the silver of his hair and his sword whirling at dangerous speeds. It was an intricate, fatal dance, in which one wrong move could spell out death for the other.

Tyr snarled in frustration and lunged, finally scoring first blood on Squalo. Squalo backed off in a burst of wind and flurry of black feathers. He wiped his cheek and stared at his hand contemplatively before looking back towards his opponent.

Calming himself, he pulled his composure together. No, it wouldn't do for him to get too excited. Tyr was the Sword Emperor, and he'd gained that title not from luck, but from skill. Squalo could not underestimate the man.

"Just a brat," Tyr sneered, leaning on one leg and looking condescendingly at Squalo. "When I heard that there was a brat who'd defeated 100 swordsmen, I'd assumed it was you. I didn't know they were so weak as to keel over in front of a runt."

Squalo clenched his hand and threw a shark-like smirk at the older tengu.

"You haven't seen anything yet, scum!"

Squalo dashed forwards in a burst of speed, sword descending in a wide arc, and the deadly dance continued. Tyr's countenance was becoming darker and darker, and the battle dragged on. Each slash and swipe was blocked and countered, each mistake taken advantage of and each weakness pushed to the limit.

Tyr spotted an opening. Squalo had left his right side open. With a victorious grin, Tyr stabbed his sword forwards, only to be met with knowing eyes and predatory grin.

"Gotcha."

Squalo knocked the sword aside. As the blade went spinning, it crashed into the blue wall and clattered uselessly to the ground. Squalo lashed out with a foot, kicking Tyr in the opposite direction of his sword. Tyr tumbled to a halt, and Squalo planted his foot on Tyr's chest.

Tyr stared upwards in surprise, if Squalo didn't know any better, pride. There was no more chance for him. He was pinned, useless without his sword, wings stuck underneath his body, and exhausted. He knew when a fight was lost. Tyr laughed self-deprecatingly and shook his head, bitter but accepting.

"My, you've gotten better. I remember when you were just a small brat, challenging me at every turn. I should have killed you then," Tyr said, voice strong and unwavering. He looked upwards at Squalo's shadowed face, remembering when he'd given the brat tips on how to use a sword when the kid had gone after him and when he'd spoken words of encouragement disguised in barbs and insults. The kid wasn't a kid anymore, though, was he? Squalo'd grown into a fine tengu, with the resolve to carry out his missions and the loyalty of an unwavering canine. Yes, if Tyr had to choose a successor, it'd be Squalo.

Squalo looked downwards impassively, and with respect in his voice, he said, "You did well with your throne, but now I'll be taking it."

Tyr nodded. "Take care of it, then."

With a swift stroke, Tyr's head was decapitated. Squalo bowed his head in respect towards the former Sword Emperor before raising it. He threw a victorious smirk at Xanxus, who snorted.

"Tyr has been terminated by Squalo. Squalo wins," Timoteo shattered the stunned silence, and the blue walls fell. Squalo left the corpse of Tyr behind and stood in front of Xanxus. There was a brief pause, with unspoken congratulations and thanks.

"Voi, don't lose your battle, boss. You're the only one left," Squalo said, and the serious tension between Xanxus and Squalo fell. Xanxus lashed out with his hand, cuffing his closest companion over the head.

"I'll win my match, fucking shark. Let's go," Xanxus said, striding away without a glance backwards.

"Took you long enough, stupid shark-senpai," Fran drawled, trailing after his boss, and Squalo's face turned red.

"Voi, fucking frog, watch your mouth!" he roared, chasing after the illusionist.

Only Tsuna looked back, glancing over a scowling Enrico and Massimo, skipping over the decapitated corpse bleeding on the grass (shit, he'd never, _never _unsee that sight, and he forcibly directed his thoughts away from the memory, because if he saw it again, he'd give up his breakfast and lunch right then and there), and gazing at Timoteo, who looked both proud and saddened.

Tsuna turned back and followed his companions.

Tomorrow would be the day, Tsuna thought, and although he wouldn't be fighting, he anxious.

XxX

As they returned, Tsuna began to feel shame and guilt wriggle in his stomach. He'd have to face Reborn, who, although she already knew he'd lose, would no doubt look at him and scoff at how useless he was, and Kyoya, who'd only stare in silence before leaving, deeming him not good enough for his presence. How could he face the gods who'd trained him?

"Stop thinking, runt," Xanxus said as he pushed open the doors to the dojo. The group stepped inside, and Fran immediately headed towards the infirmary, most likely to gloat about his flawless victory to Bel.

Squalo, who'd been strangely subdued during the whole trip back, said he'd be retiring for the night before disappearing as well. Xanxus only glanced at Tsuna and ruffled his hair roughly before leaving as well, leaving Tsuna all by himself.

He sighed and trudged to his room, fully expecting disappointed gazes and judging looks. He paused in front of the room he was living in with the rest of the gods and paused, nerves getting the better of him. He closed his eyes and slid open the door.

As he walked in, he found smirks, proud looks, and some anger.

"It wasn't your fault, Tsuna-nii-chan, you did well!" Lambo rushed out in one breath, flying forwards and barreling into Tsuna's stomach. Well used to these kinds of impacts from the small beings, he felt more shame curling in his chest.

"I-I lost, guys," Tsuna mumbled, and although he was expecting it, he still wasn't prepared for the smack to his nose that Kyoya dished out.

"Tsunayoshi, you won that fight. That cowardly herbivore deserves to be bitten," Kyoya growled, morcing Tsuna's head up and glaring at the brown eyes that were tearing from not just the harsh blow to his nose. "If you dare feel bad about this, I think I'll need to take you out for another week and show you what _real _losing is."

"Haha, Kyoya, you're just scaring him!" Takeshi said, yanking Kyoya backwards and dodging the ensuing strike aimed at his head. He fended off the blows with his katana. "Tsuna did well."

"But I _lost_, you guys b-believed in me, and I went ahead and…I was careless, and I really shouldn't have been. This was serious, and I had your support on me, and I let you down," Tsuna babbled, his feelings since his fight rushing out. Despite Xanxus's reassurances, he still felt horrible. "A-and, you _knew _I would lose too! What's the point of sending me out there to fight for Xanxus? It was risky, and-!"

Kyoko flew forwards, a gentle smile on her face, with Ryohei beside her, glowing and radiant.

"Sawada, you did EXTREMELY well," Ryohei reassured.

Kyoko shook her head. "Tsuna-kun, you were against a tengu. By all rights, you should have lost five minutes into the match, but you would have won if your opponent wasn't such a scumbag."

"Kyoko!" Tsuna exclaimed, surprised at the amount of vitriol in her tone.

Kyoko shrugged. "It's true."

"Well, you're obviously feeling down. Would you like me to join you tonight?" Mukuro asked, and although the look on his face was leering, he seemed almost concerned. Hah, Tsuna scoffed inwardly as he felt the tension in his shoulders bleed out slightly and the nervousness drain from his body, 'Mukuro' and 'concerned' were unlikely to be in the same sentence when combined with 'Tsuna'.

Lambo scowled and, surprisingly, so did Hayato, who growled and lifted a small stick of dynamite. "Get near him with your perverted ways, and I'll blow you to smithereens."

Mukuro backed off. "Oya, no need to get violent."

Tsuna finally allowed himself to look at Reborn, who was once again polishing her gun. She completely ignored him, and he felt something inside him sink. Reborn was disappointed, Reborn was mad at him, he'd let her down…

"You did well, Tsuna. Much better than I expected. Well done," came the dry praise, and Tsuna blinked and whipped his gaze in her direction. She nonchalantly continued wiping down her gun parts, as if she hadn't just given one of her hard-won praises.

"Y-yeah," Tsuna said, feeling slightly relieved.

"Get some rest, tomorrow's the day," Kyoko said, pushing him with her miniscule amount of strength in the direction of the bed. He allowed himself to be guided and collapsed on the covers.

"Not before he showers, no he doesn't. Get yourself clean, Dame-Tsuna," Reborn growled, and Tsuna leapt off the bed and hurried to the bathroom.

When he returned, hair sopping wet and rubbing at it with a towel, he noticed Kyoya already napping on the pillow and gods spread out all over the bed. He stood in front of it, puzzled as to how to get them to move without waking them.

"Just get in, Dame-Tsuna," Reborn commanded from the covers. She violently kicked Lambo aside, who whined and merely rolled over so that Tsuna could peel back the covers. He slipped in, and the moment his head touched the pillows, all of the gods migrated towards him as if drawn towards a magnet, even the dead asleep Takeshi and Hayato. He blinked, puzzled at the general exodus towards his body. Kyoya turned onto his side and whapped Tsuna on the cheek gently.

"Go to sleep," the war god murmured, eyes still closed. Tsuna felt exhaustion from the day seep into his bones, and his eyes slid closed, surrounded by small warm bodies and the reassurance that they provided him.

XxX

As dawn rose, Tsuna slowly awoke to something fluffy tickling his nose and the strangest sensation of being weighed down. He blearily blinked his eyes open to be faced with a yellow ball of fluff.

_What the…?_

"Hiiiie!"

There were jerks from the weights on his body, and as he flew away from his bed, the yellow thing flew away, chirping indignantly, and there were many irritated mumbles and threats directed towards his person.

"Tsuna-nii-chan!" Lambo whined, struggling to escape the sunlight filtering through the blinds by diving under the blankets.

"Tsunayoshi, I will bit you to death for interrupting my sleep."

"Kufufu, this isn't exactly what I had in mind for when you scream in bed."

"Dammit, it's too early for your perverted jokes, go _away_."

"Sorry, sorry!" Tsuna said, ducking from the various looks of irritation and glares sent his way (as well as a stray bullet). He focused on the yellow bird that had woken him up and jolted when he recognized it.

"It's one of Birds's birds…" he said in slight horror before looking around for the old man, expecting him to just pop out from behind the bed.

Hibari popped an eye open to see the yellow chirping ball of feathers. It flew around Tsuna before settling in his hair, to the brunet's extreme discomfort and terror. The war god narrowed his eyes at the bird, and the bird only chirped back.

Tsuna froze at the slight weight in his hair before shaking his head violently and dashing out of his room. When he arrived in the kitchen of the dojo, he screeched to a halt and saw Fran and Squalo already seated, eating something that looked vaguely like very, very burnt eggs and bacon.

"There's…a bird…in here!" he panted, and Fran only raised an eyebrow.

"Then chase it out, good-for-nothing human," the teal haired tengu drawled before shoving the disgusting goo into his mouth without a change in expression. "I can't kill all the birds around here."

"But isn't Birds _dead?!_" Tsuna asked somewhat hysterically, and Fran frowned.

"The perverted old man's dead. It must be a bird that wasn't killed," Fran said before turning back to his eggs. He furrowed his brows and dumped a boatload of salt onto the stuff as if that would make it taste better. "Your eggs taste like shit, shitty shark-senpai."

Squalo scowled and spat through a mouthful of blackened eggs, "Then _you _cook next time."

Tsuna sighed, still shaken by the bird that had been a living bomb the day. "I'll cook, just let me brush my teeth."

Fran brightened, not that it made much of an impact on his apathetic face, and Squalo narrowed his eyes. "You think you can cook better than me, shitty brat?"

Tsuna snorted and turned back to his bathroom. "I _know _I can cook better than that," he muttered.

When he returned, surprises among surprises, he found all the gods still asleep and…_the bird was sleeping next to Kyoya_.

Did it have a death wish?!

Tsuna blinked as the bird nestled closer to the war god, who only laid a hand in the soft nest of feathers, and the brunet decided that he'd had enough chaos for the morning and ignored the entire sight. He went through his daily routines before returning to the kitchen. He wasn't at all surprised at the severly burnt eggs in the trashcan, nor was he surprised at the expectant gazes of not only Fran and Squalo, but also Bel, who was wrapped in bandages but still smiling, and Mammon, who was perched on Bel's shoulder.

"Make a breakfast fit for a prince, commoner," Bel commanded, and Tsuna sighed and headed for the stove. Not fifteen minutes later, almost magically, there was a plate of pancakes, fluffy eggs, and bacon fried to perfection.

"Let's steal him," Mammon said, stabbing a small bit of egg with the smallest fork Tsuna'd ever seen and bringing it up to his downturned mouth. "I'll even pay him. Not much, but I'd pay him to make breakfast."

There was a silent agreement all around, and Tsuna huffed a laughed and plopped himself down to breakfast.

Everybody knew that this was the last peaceful moment they'd have before their lives changed…for better or for worse.

XxX

"The last battle will begin shortly. Combatants, please get ready," one of the Cervello announced, and Xanxus stood, apathetic and ready for the fight. All of the Varia (barring Mammon) had managed to come today, although Lussuria was swaddled in bandages and in a wheelchair, and Levi looked worse for wear.

"Voi, don't lose, shitty boss, or I'll have to kick your ass," Squalo roared and had to dodge a wine glass (Xanxus had actually brought a whole arsenal of alcohol glasses this time, prepared to throw at his second-in-command).

"Shut the fuck up," Xanxus growled. He turned to Enrico, who was standing cockily in the middle of the arena.

This time, the lines in the ground were much thicker, most likely to keep Xanxus from tearing the place down, and allowed for a larger arena. The ground was made of hard packed dirt, with little vegetation growing.

"Good luck, Xanxus," Tsuna called out softly, and the boss turned to peer at Tsuna before snorting. He turned, his broad shoulders lined with determination and confidence.

"Don't need your luck, brat," Xanxus said and ambled into the arena. The blue walls, thick and lined with diamond hard ice, rose, encasing the two combatants within.

There was a tense pause, with jeering from what remained of Enrico's party. Timoteo stood, concern hardening his figure and the inevitable death of one of his descendants looming over his head. He closed his eyes, mourning the death of family, before opening them. The countenance of a leader fell upon his face, and he announced in a hard voice:

"The seventh battle, which will decide who becomes the successor of the tengu clan, will now begin!"

Xanxus stood lazily, dark eyes tracing Enrico's movements. The older man encased his hands in orange flames. Xanxus only narrowed his eyes but did not react to the obvious taunting.

Orange flames, the mark of all full-blooded tengu of the first tengu head's descent. All of his progeny could use these orange flames, which could destroy on a massive scale.

Everybody but Xanxus, at least. Enrico was flaunting his position and status as a full-blooded tengu, more fit for the position of head of the tengu than Xanxus was.

"You should just back down. Even if you won this, which I doubt you will, you will never get the support of all the other tengu. The only one who can take the reins of the tengu clan is I, not a half-blooded creature with no parents," Enrico sneered. His wings rose, blocking out the sun with their breadth. Xanxus allowed his own wings to grow. Scars began making their way across Xanxus's face, and his eyes grew wilder.

"Fucking trash, you'll rue the day you were born," Xanxus snarled, drawing out his guns and cocking them. His hands gripped at his guns, and his wings beat powerfully.

"At least I'm not a smear on our family line," Enrico countered, and the orange flames gradually started encasing his entire arms. Xanxus knew that one hit from those flames, and he'd be blasted away. His half-human body would not be able to take such a hit point blank.

The two stared each other down. Tension rose in the air, before there was a loud shot in the air.

Both tengu were off like the wind, and the final match that would decide whether the tengu clan would rise or fall began.

XxX

A/N: Well, there you go. I hope you're satisfied with Tsuna's fight! I wanted him to lose because hey, tengu vs human, Tsuna's actually human. This is a reminder that that is what he is, and a reminder that he will not always win, even though he is the protagonist. Reviews are appreciated, as always, and tell me if I made any horrible mistakes!

Best regards,

haplessgrapefrut


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: So someone pointed out that Hibari is called Kyoya in this fanfic, so will Hibird still be called Hibird? Oh shit, I did _not _think of that. *flounders about uselessly* Can we all just, you know, ignore that part and just call Hibird Hibird? Uh...

I'm so bad at writing emotions. How does one write emotions. How does one write. How. I can't even.

Read on, and this is the official end of the Varia arc! There'll be a bit of a filler, and then the official start of the Byakuran arc! I've got the general outline of what's gonna happen, and whatever comes out of my fingers when I type is gonna be what's gonna happen. This story is such a make-it-up-as-I-go story, I feel ashamed.

Also, this will most probably be the last update before I leave to no-wifi-land for three weeks. Meaning, I probably won't be updating until the end of August sometime. My apologies.

Forge on, my brave readers, into the horrors of my writing!

XxX

Xanxus was not, by any means, a gentle man.

He'd never had to care for another person. His companions were just tools to be used to climb higher, and his parents were just the tengu who had sired him. He'd never really felt a personal connection to anything or anyone, except perhaps very strong alcohol.

That all changed when he met the human known as Sawada Tsunayoshi.

Suddenly, he began looking after his acquaintances, making sure that everything was well in their world (and if there was something wrong but they could handle it themselves, then he just kept a watchful eye). He began _caring_, which was not something that the male had ever had to do before.

So he'd issued the commands to his fighters that they were not to lose their lives. Should they lose against their opponent during these competitions, they would forfeit.

But when he began caring, he began to forget something else.

He began to lose his rage at the world, the anger that had stewed within him since adolescence and grown into a raging beast. And there was the problem.

Xanxus dodged a bright orange fireball that whizzed right by his ear, searing his skin. He snarled and fired powerful, explosive shots at Enrico. Enrico merely blocked with his flame encased arms and laughed derisively.

"Is this your power? How weak! I'd thought that facing against a man who'd blown a hole through the wards around an arena would be stronger, but I guess I was wrong!" Enrico taunted, blasting a concentrated flame out of his hand.

Xanxus shot the flame, causing it and his own concentrated ball of power to disperse.

He'd used to use his rage and his wrath to bring down his opponents. One wrong word or look, and Xanxus would fly off the handle and riddle anyone within shooting distance with holes. His guns, specially made, could hold his wrath and power and shoot them in concentrated forms, wrecking destruction wherever Xanxus saw fit.

But his wrath and bitterness was now severely weakened, and his power was not the same as it had been before.

Xanxus shot another barrage of flames at Enrico. The two flew around the arena, flipping and ducking under each other's projectiles.

It was undeniable. Xanxus was quickly losing ground to Enrico.

But he couldn't find that same mind numbing anger that used to always accompany him when he caught even one sight of Enrico. He'd grown _soft._

"It's a good thing your parents are dead, then, isn't it? They wouldn't have to see this shit show," Enrico laughed as Xanxus teetered. The extreme heat in the air was creating updrafts, making the air unpredictable. Enrico landed as Xanxus crouched to the ground, tucking in his wings. They'd have to proceed on foot from here.

Xanxus felt his heart twinge in his chest. Despite the fact that he'd never really seen his parents, never known them, they were still his _parents_. And such an insult would not go unpunished.

Xanxus fired his guns, a large blast of raging fire shooting out of the barrel. Enrico's eyes widened, and he dove to the side as the fire rammed into the blue shields around them. The shield sizzled, the ice melting. The Cervello hastily reinforced the walls.

"Hah, it's a good thing I got rid of them, then, isn't it?" Enrico asked as he stood and brushed himself off. Xanxus's eyes narrowed.

"What?"

"You know how your parents died, right? The landslide?" Enrico asked ruthlessly, expression twisted into one of maniacal glee. "They're tengu, they should be able to fly away from a landslide."

Xanxus took a menacing step forwards, and a red haze began settling around his eyes.

"_E__xplain, trash_."

Xanxus had always thought that the gods, the thoughtless, imbecilic gods, had killed his parents. There'd been a landslide one year, and Xanxus had been out of the house. His father and mother, however, had not been. When Xanxus received news that his parents had been crushed to death beneath a multitude of rocks, trees, and dirt, he'd only shrugged. What were his parents to him? They never treated him as their child, so he wouldn't treat them as his parents.

But his loneliness grew, and he began blaming the gods. They were the ones who had created the landslide, they were the ones who'd begun the thunderstorm that had torn his parents to pieces and buried them. That Enrico had had a hand in this was news, and despite the severing of all parental ties, Xanxus felt that familiar, comforting rage welling up.

Enrico snorted, although he backed up a step at the menacing presence slowly advancing on him. Rather stupidly, he continued fueling the growing, forgotten rage in Xanxus.

"They died because of _me_. I'd hired men to subdue them, to block all forms of escape for them. I couldn't have another stronger, possibly more worthy candidate for the head position, could I?" Enrico asked, venomous words spilling out of his mouth. "So I arranged the landslide. A couple of well placed blasts, and down they went. Too bad you weren't there with them."

Xanxus lost himself. Power, rage, and wrath grew until the world focused on Enrico, and Xanxus felt only one need: to _kill, slaughter_ this bastard in front of him.

With a snarl, Xanxus blasted shots of all encompassing rage at his opponent, and the arena exploded.

One shot mercilessly tore off one of Enrico's wings. Another sent him flying into the blue walls that abruptly shattered in the face of Xanxus's wrath. Enrico had awoken that lost rage, and Xanxus was going to repay him for doing so.

The blue walls trembled and fell around them, shards of ice immediately melting in the heat. Xanxus shot recklessly at Enrico, whose eyes had widened at the sudden increase in power and was trying his best to fend off the shots aiming to take his life. However, he was off balance from the pain coming from his broken wing and the missing presence of such an important appendage. As he attempted to block one of Xanxus's shots, the flames of wrath tore through his own fire, burning and blistering his skin. Enrico screamed in agony.

When he looked back up, he gazed down the barrel of a gun and into the face of a demon. Power built in the gun as Xanxus prepared to end the life of the man in front of him.

"Xanxus!" a cry tore through the air. Xanxus jerked, as if being wrenched from a dream, and the mindless rage in his eyes receded. He narrowed his eyes and shook his head before refocusing on his fallen opponent.

"I should kill you," Xanxus seethed. He bared his teeth before glancing at Tsuna, gentle, caring Tsuna, who'd screamed his name earlier. The concern in the human's eyes calmed Xanxus somewhat, and Xanxus lowered his guns. If Tsuna did not think he should kill this man, then he wouldn't...for now. "I should rip your life away from your body as you did my parents."

Enrico stared blearily at the younger tengu.

"But I won't," Xanxus finally decided. Even with that rage returned to him, Xanxus would not let it control him. He'd wield it like a finely honed blade, directed at his enemies, controlled by him. He wouldn't let his anger take away his judgment. "Leave. Leave, and never return."

The older tengu just nodded and babbled in fear. "Yeah, just, I forfeit, I'll leave, just don't kill me!"

Xanxus spat at the older man in disgust. The over-confidence and bravado was gone to leave a miserable, shaking man. How pathetic.

"E-Enrico has forfeited. Xanxus, with four wins, has won his match and is now the new heir to the tengu clan," a Cervello stuttered, intimidated at the display of power.

Xanxus turned to the awestruck audience and his grandfather, who looked vaguely proud. Timoteo smiled before his face morphed into one of anger and fear. Xanxus felt power build up behind him, and he fingered his gun in glee. Too bad the man was foolish enough to throw away his only chance at life.

"But if I'm going down, I'm taking you down with me!"

Xanxus spun and fired. His shot cleaved through the fireball that had just left Enrico's fingertips and hit true. A gaping hole was left in Enrico's chest, and the man fell, a charred corpse.

"Too bad, trash. You're the only one that went down," Xanxus sneered. He closed his eyes and relished in his victory.

He'd won. _He'd won._ This, this was what he'd been waiting for, what he'd been aiming towards. To prove that he was stronger, that he had a stronger conviction, that he was better fit to lead the tengu clan. He was now the new heir.

"Well done, Xanxus," Timoteo said quietly, and that long-forgotten feeling of happiness appeared in his chest, dusty but still radiant. Xanxus smiled a small, genuine smile.

"Xanxus!"

His team, every one of his companions dashed forwards, and Squalo was the first to stand in front of him. The silver haired man grinned and slapped Xanxus on the back.

"Good job, boss," Squalo crowed, and Xanxus elbowed the noisy commander out of the way. There were rounds of cheers and congratulations all around, and finally, Xanxus focused on Tsuna.

He'd killed. He'd killed in front of Tsuna, who'd asked him silently to spare Enrico's life, but he didn't regret it. If Tsuna wanted to push him away from seeing him kill (it would hurt) in self defence, then Xanxus would let him. The new heir stuffed his hands into his pockets and turned to prepare to return to the dojo.

Warm arms enveloped his blood splattered, dusty waist, and Xanxus stared down in surprise at the head of fluffy hair that was buried in his chest.

"Congratulations, Xanxus. Congratulations," Tsuna muttered, and Xanxus's heart lightened. He rested a hand on the head.

"Yeah," Xanxus said quietly.

The two stood in the hug, relieved that everybody they knew and cared for had survived, that they were fine, with no lasting damages. Xanxus thanked the gods (quite literally) for training them, for allowing him to achieve his ambition and dream that had spawned the moment he'd been spat upon as a half-blood.

A peace of mind that Xanxus hadn't felt in a very long time descended upon him, and his shoulders relaxed in the embrace.

The moment didn't last long. Moments like these never did, really, with the Varia on hand.

"Oi, shitty boss, stop molesting the kid! We've got a party to plan!"

Xanxus growled and let go of Tsuna hastily, feeling several glares on his back and many amused looks. He turned and haphazardly fired a shot that sailed a bit too close to the Varia second in command's shiny, perfect hair for his comfort.

"Make sure there's wine and steak, trash."

XxX

That night, Tsuna and the gods returned to the university campus. There had been rounds of congratulations to be had from the gods, some grudging and some overly enthusiastic. Tsuna sighed at the empty room that was Xanxus's. He wasn't sure if he'd see much of the man anymore.

_"You're not coming back?" Tsuna asked. They were having a celebratory dinner, in which Squalo was roaring drunk and the gods were actually interacting with the tengu in a rather non-hostile manner._

_Xanxus grunted. "I need training if I want to become the next head. Political training, combat training…" Xanxus trailed off before twitching slightly. "I can't go back to university now."_

_There was a rambunctious laugh from Squalo, who waved his sword dangerously close to Takeshi. The rain god only dodged it and chuckled good-humoredly._

_Xanxus reflexively threw the glass of alcohol in his hand and immediately regretted it. Damn, that had been good. He narrowed his eyes at Squalo, who was now sopping wet but not any more sober than before._

_"So…I won't get to see you much?" Tsuna asked, somewhat sadly, and Xanxus only snorted._

_"I'm sure you'll find a way to see me. You and your meddling gods are more trouble than you're worth," the tengu responded before downing the gin he'd just poured. Tsuna only frowned more (which was not a pout, thank you very much), and Xanxus finally sighed and ruffled his hair roughly. "I'll come visit. Happy, brat?"_

_Tsuna smiled blindingly, and Xanxus subtly rolled his eyes before returning to his very good steak._

He'd had an eventful time. Physical training, mental strengthening (dead bodies, sightless eyes, _deaddeaddead_, and more self-confidence to boot. Tsuna wasn't quite sure how to feel when he opened the door to his suite's common room, but it turned out he wasn't given much of a chance to figure out his feelings.

A giant white head of hair painfully collided with his own head, and suddenly, he couldn't quite breathe due to the steel bands that had wrapped around his torso.

"Tsu-kun! Where were you? Are you hurt? Did those gods do anything bad to you? I knew we should have kicked them out!" Byakuran wailed, burying his face in Tsuna's neck. Shocked, Tsuna could only pat Byakuran awkwardly on the head.

Enma was behind Byakuran and was emitting frankly the most terrifying aura. Although he was smiling, there was a very lethal and threatening undertone beneath the pleasant expression. Enma tilted his head.

"I'm hoping they didn't hurt you, Tsuna-kun. Next time, you really have to tell us before you go off and disappear, and I expect that the gods won't drag you places unwillingly, _right_?" Enma asked softly. It felt like there was a finely honed blade dragging across baby skin, not enough pressure to cut, but should the slightest threat appear…

Tsuna shivered in terror.

"Yeah, sorry, Enma-kun," Tsuna replied sheepishly, and none of the gods had much to say to the terrifying inugami.

The dark aura lifted, leaving a pleasant, gentle Enma behind. "Then let's get started on dinner. I expect you to tell me _everything_."

Tsuna nodded desperately and collapsed on the sofa under Byakuran's weight, who was still snuggling into him. Tsuna sighed as he saw Mukuro poke a trident at Byakuran's head. Even when at home, it seemed he wouldn't be getting a moment's rest.

XxX

Days passed leisurely after the competitions. Tsuna returned to classes and faced the disapproval of many professors, who weren't too happy with his prolonged and previously unannounced absence. However, when Tsuna turned in homework and assignments that he'd worked tirelessly on under Reborn's (not so) tender care, they only sighed and told him to warn them next time he decided to skip out on classes.

The human spent more time around Byakuran and Enma, who hovered around him and glared suspiciously at the gods and clung to him like limpets. Tsuna only huffed and bore their increased presences. He figured he owed it to them for disappearing for two weeks without so much as a goodbye. They must have been worried sick, he thought guiltily.

He also spent more time training. The time he'd spent at the tengu compound had its effects. Now plagued with the occasional nightmare of watching Xanxus get his head blown off, or screaming as Lussuria's chest caved in from a too strong kick from Frederico, or helplessly standing aside while Levi stopped breathing, Tsuna spent slightly less time sleeping (which was probably a good thing anyways, since he'd slept too much before) and more time training. Instead of heading back to bed after watching the sun rise with Ryohei, he jogged around the dorms, much to nearly everybody's disbelief.

Xanxus's presence left an empty void in the dorms. Where there used to be threatening growls in response to Byakuran's antics or demands of steak from Enma, there was only silence. Byakuran and Enma didn't seem too affected, but Tsuna felt the loss keenly. Xanxus made it up, however, with visits on the weekends with the rest of the Varia, which Tsuna felt extremely grateful for.

His daily routine now revolved around classes, his two dorm mates, training, and the gods. As busy as his days usually were, he reveled in his companions and continuous activity. It was such an improvement from before, no matter how many bruises to his body and very small ego that he returned with, Tsuna wouldn't trade one day of the present with a week of the past.

Alas, the peace was not to be, and one thing slipped his mind.

His father.

XxX

Tsuna stumbled out of his room, freshly bruised from a workout with Reborn (sadistic Spartan tutor). As he moved his showering supplies to the bathroom, there was a knock on the door. Tsuna groaned and yelled, "Coming!"

When he opened the door, he felt his heart sink into his stomach. Before him was a well-built man dressed in a business suit with short cut hair and brown eyes. The man grinned and laughed boisterously.

"Tsuna! My boy! How are you? You look…er…well, you look good," Sawada Iemitsu said, stalling slightly when he took in his son's appearance. Tsuna knew very well that he, in no way, looked 'good', with a shirt smeared in dirt and twigs in his hair. "I decided to come visit today! Remember when I called you?"

Tsuna grit his teeth and plastered on a fake smile. "Yeah, dad. Did you go see Mama yet?"

Iemitsu shook his head and pushed past his son with no verbal response, uninvited, giving Tsuna no chance to turn him away. Behind him were two more men, one blond that smiled at Tsuna gently, the other a man with a moustache that reminded Tsuna of a giant, furry, black caterpillar.

Tsuna sighed and shut the door. At least Byakuran and Enma were both out, leaving only Tsuna, Lambo, Mukuro, Chrome, and Reborn (Kyoko and Ryohei were out on their daily search for Amaterasu, Kyoya had left to be antisocial, and Takeshi and Hayato were who knew where). Tsuna didn't look forwards to the tongue lashing Enma would very likely give Iemitsu, since the inugami held no love for his father.

"You should go see Mama. She misses you, you know," Tsuna suggested and was responded to with another chuckle. Iemitsu made a move to ruffle his hair but then winced when he saw the state of his son's head and withdrew his arm.

"Maa, I'll see her after I finish visiting my precious son!" the man said before waving at the two strangers. "Tsuna, meet Dino and Romario!"

Tsuna switched his slightly accusing and very unhappy gaze to Dino, who seemed completely oblivious to Tsuna's ire, and Romario, who only smiled.

"It's nice to meet you, Tsuna! You can call me nii-san, though, I've always wanted a little brother!" Dino said enthusiastically and took no heed of Tsuna's dirtied state. He reached over and shook Tsuna's hand enthusiastically. Tsuna shook back and quickly withdrew his hand. Dino's personality and obliviousness grated on Tsuna's nerves the same way his father's did. Although Tsuna didn't know if Dino neglected his duties as much as Iemitsu, the simple fact that Iemitsu knew this man, that this man hung around his father was damning enough.

"It's nice to meet you, Dino-san," Tsuna said politely, completely ignoring what Dino had said. The blond's face fell somewhat before brightening cheerily.

"Tsuna-nii-san, who's out there?" Lambo yelled from Tsuna's room, preoccupied with trying to move a mouse larger than he was to play a game. It was an entertaining sight, and Reborn and Mukuro were jeering at the poor lightning god for his efforts.

Tsuna ignored him, mindful of the fact that regular humans couldn't hear them. Iemitsu's gaze flickered before settling on Tsuna again, although there was a slight furrow to his brows now.

"Tsuna, I believe that we should have this conversation in private," his father said, uncharacteristically grave for once. Too bad he hadn't been this serious about his family's welfare, Tsuna thought bitterly.

"Whatever you want to say, you can say here," Tsuna said firmly, and Iemitsu's eyes flickered down the hallway that led to the rooms again.

"Are you sure?" he asked slowly, and Tsuna nearly left in frustration. However, he reigned in his emotions and narrowed his eyes.

"Yes."

Dino hummed thoughtfully, eyes drifting over the small common room. Before Iemitsu could continue with whatever he wanted to talk about, Dino blinked and pointed. "Who painted that?"

Tsuna turned to see a watercolor painting he'd done not too long ago. The scene depicted was a night view of Namimori, lights twinkling and sky a dark blue. Streaks of bright colors decorated the lively scenery. The focus of the painting was three men: Xanxus, scowl firmly in place and looking away petulantly, Byakuran, with a foxy grin and dragging two unwilling participants into his sides in a demanding hug, and Enma, who was looking long-sufferingly out towards the audience. Tsuna had taken a picture of the scene, and feeling sentimental, decided to immortalize the image in painting. The artwork itself wasn't particularly big, but Tsuna had spent a long time getting the colors right, inserting the right characterizations into the men, and gathering the courage to show to his dorm mates. Under unanimous agreement, the painting was framed and hung.

"I did," Tsuna replied stiffly, eyes trained on Iemitsu.

"When?" his father demanded.

"A couple of months ago."

The father narrowed his eyes and asked sharply, "Didn't I tell you to stop wasting time on that?"

Tsuna winced and shrank slightly, because, for all his anger and frustration, he didn't have the heart to stand against his own dad. "It's only a way to pass time."

Iemitsu stood and examined the painting. "This doesn't look like a way to pass time. It looks like you spent a lot of effort and time painting this."

"I did," the brunet responded softly, to which Iemitsu rounded on his son and barked.

"What did I tell you? You're a good artist, but you won't amount to anything if you pursue a career in art. You need to become something else, something more, so that you can support your future family and live a good life," Iemitsu warned, strong disapproval sliding over his face. Tsuna flinched and shrank even more.

"Hey, now, that's a bit harsh," Dino said, frowning. Tsuna's respect for him rose a little, not that it was very high in the first place. "If Tsuna-kun wants to paint, I think you should be fully supportive of him."

"And who exactly will take up my position?" Iemitsu asked, and Dino sat back down.

"What's going on out here?" a voice asked, and Tsuna turned around sharply to see Mukuro, frown upon his lips and eyes narrowed accusingly from Tsuna's hunched figure to Iemitsu, towering and disapproving. Iemitsu startled, looking at the moon god with wide eyes, and Dino gasped.

"A god? What is a god doing here?" Dino asked, shocked.

Mukuro narrowed his eyes. "I should ask the same of the two tanuki and the human ambassador," he said dangerously, quietly. "If you're threatening Tsunayoshi-kun, I'm afraid I can't forgive you."

To emphasize this point, he drew his trident and spun it slowly, and his eyes glowed. Behind him, Chrome had approached and also had her trident drawn, although she looked much less confrontational about the action.

"For once, I agree with the creepy pervert," another voice announced, and Lambo flew up beside the two moon gods, lightning sparking through his body.

Tsuna himself was stunned that the gods knew these two strangers and his father, and they knew the gods. This was completely unexpected. Had his father known the existence of the gods and magical creatures for Tsuna's entire life? Was this why he'd disappeared? Why was he keeping secrets?

Tsuna stood and gestured at the gods to calm themselves. They flew beside Tsuna and hovered protectively.

"Tsuna?" Iemitsu asked, confused and tentative for the first time during this meeting.

Tsuna raised his eyes, sparking golden, and he asked, "How do you know about the gods? What aren't you telling me?"

"Yes, Iemitsu, what exactly are you not telling Dame-Tsuna?" the last god present asked. Dino let out an involuntary whimper, and Romario only sighed and patted the blond on the back comfortingly.

"Reborn…"

Reborn cast a disinterested gaze over the blond before turning her beetle-black eyes back on Iemitsu. "Idiot Dino, be a good former student and be quiet."

There were too many relationships brought to light in too little time. Tsuna closed his eyes and gathered his information.

Reborn knew Iemitsu and Dino personally, and those two also knew Reborn. Iemitsu and Dino (and Romario, Tsuna assumed, but since the man hadn't said an entire word this whole meeting, he thought it was safe to think that Dino and Iemitsu were the big players in this encounter) knew of the gods. Dino and Romario were confirmed to be tanuki. So what, exactly, was the relationship between Ietmitsu and the gods? Mukuro had said 'ambassador'.

"What's going on here?" Tsuna asked, somewhat angrily. It seemed as if a whole slew of negative emotions were just ready to be spilled this evening, and he prepared himself for emotional turmoil.

"I should ask the same thing. You never told me you interacted with the gods," his dad replied, somewhat accusingly.

Tsuna bristled and said, "Yes, well, you never told me you interacted with them either. Why should I talk to the dad that never bothered to contact me or Mama, to take care of us?"

Iemitsu took a threatening step forward. "Don't speak to me that way, Tsuna. I'm your father!"

"But are you really? You never acted like one!" Tsuna took a step backwards from his father's imposing figure, and hurt revealed itself in his words. Iemitsu's countenance grew thunderous.

There was a gunshot that shattered the air. Reborn's fedora was tilted over her eyes, and disapproval lined her body. She cocked her head and said slowly, carefully, "Iemitsu, I believe it would be in all of our best interests if you sat down and talked."

The father threw a frustrated look towards the goddess, who remained unaffected in the face of his ire, and sat.

"There are many things I've never told you or your mother," Iemitsu began, and Tsuna snorted inwardly. _There aren't many things you told us_. "I am what the gods call the ambassador between humans and gods. I tell the gods the status of the human race, what the current events are like, which areas in Japan are suffering and which areas are flourishing. I talk to the Goddess of Dawn, Ryohei, regularly, since the head goddess, Amaterasu, is currently missing.

"I travel around Japan mostly, since Japan is the area that the gods are most in control of, but I also travel around the world to gather intel on international problems that may affect Japan. I am, essentially, the gods' messenger.

"And you, Tsuna, are going to be my successor. When I retire, I'm expecting you to take care of my responsibilities. This is why you can't puruse a career in art. You have to take classes and gain experience in public relations, in analyzing crises around the world, and in political affairs."

Tsuna froze during the information. This explained so little. Tsuna growled lowly. "What, and you couldn't take care of your family? You couldn't come home occasionally, for Mama's birthday or your anniversary?" he demanded, and Iemitsu's face grew grave.

"My job is more important."

Tsuna felt anger suddenly boil in his gut. His vision tunneled onto his father. Blood pounded in his ears, and heat spread through his body. He would _never_ turn into the kind of man his father was.

He stood, deceptively calm, and said icily, "Get out."

Iemitsu stood as well, shoulders tense. "You can't tell your father what to do."

"You'll get out, or I'll make you," Tsuna replied, and the gods brandished their weapons nonchalantly, protective and supportive.

Iemitsu scanned the gods before narrowing his eyes. He turned and made for the door. "I'll leave you to think about what I just told you, Tsuna, but you can't escape your role in this world forever. I'll be back. I hope you'll have cooled your head by then."

With that last farewell, his father left.

Tsuna let out a breath and felt emotions drain from his body. He felt exhausted, more so than after his fight with Massimo, and waved his hand towards the other two silent visitors.

"You should go too. I don't know why he brought you, and I don't really care right now," Tsuna said, turning and stalking to his room.

Dino nodded and stood, followed by Romario, and they left as well.

Tsuna entered his room, familiar in its scents and atmosphere. His home, where his father had never touched. And now, it was tainted with bad memories, of the revelation of who exactly his father was, and what exactly he thought. To think that a job was more important than family, to neglect them so…

It was unfathomable to Tsuna, who craved family more than anything and took care of his precious people before himself.

Tsuna shrugged off his clothes and climbed into bed despite the sun that was still out. He curled onto his side and hugged his pillow close to his chest, which was constricting with sadness and bitterness.

He felt several warm bodies cuddle close to him, soft comfort, but he didn't acknowledge them. Warm tears dripped down his cheeks, and his body shook as he let out his emotions and cried himself to sleep.

XxX

A/N: Grammar. What is grammar. I can't grammar. But fortunately, you guys don't have to suffer with my horrible writing anymore! Why? Because I got a beta! Many thanks to shirobara1, who actually _offered _to be my beta! Eternally grateful to you I am, and readers, grammar is now a thing of the past.

Thanks for reading, and review!

Best regards,

haplessgrapefrut


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: Sooooo...uhm. I have no excuse for not updating for a really long time, sorry. I was off by like, two weeks of my predicted update time. Well, August was just busy in general, since I went to Africa (it was _awesome_), and then I had to pack for college, and then I had to slack off for college by playing a ton of League of Legends (don't download it, ever, please don't, it's actually horrible, _don't do it_), and then I had a ton of lectures to catch up on, and I'm failing music theory because I suck at it, and I'm failing biochem because I haven't been going, and I such at basically everything, and I suck with keeping on top of writing, and I suck at updating, sooooooooo...

Uh, please read and review? :)

Apologies for the late update again, and enjoy! Once again, any mistakes you spot you can tell me about. You guys are the best!

XxX

The next day was a particularly dreary day. Clouds loomed overhead (Hayato shot Takeshi a sullen look, to which Takeshi smiled sheepishly and said that it couldn't be sunny _every _day), and lightning crackled (Lambo seemed gleeful, at least). It was a day of doom and gloom, and it matched Tsuna's mood perfectly.

When Tsuna woke up, it took him a while to realize that it was a weekend. He had no good reason to be up other than to exercise or do homework, which were perfectly good reasons to get up, actually, but he ignored his subconscious and burrowed deeper into his blankets. Several little bodies shifted, and Tsuna peered blearily over his covers to see Lambo, Kyoko, and Ryohei still asleep. The other gods had disappeared sometime before he'd woken up, so he gently nudged them closer to the wall and away from the edge of the bed before curling up into a fetal position and closing his eyes.

Reluctantly, his mind drifted to the previous day, and he cursed his dad in his head.

The fact that his father had known about the gods and others, could actually see them and recognize them explained a lot, actually. It explained his shifty explanations to Nana when asked about what exactly he did or where he was going. It also explained why Tsuna himself could see the gods. It explained his father's long absences and insultingly vague excuses for missing Nana's birthday.

It explained so much, but Tsuna didn't forgive his father any bit more than he did earlier. Which was, to say, not at all.

He was also, deep inside, resentful of the gods. Why didn't they tell him that his father was the freaking _ambassador _between the gods and humans? Reborn, at least, surely knew of Tsuna's resentment towards his father. Why wouldn't she tell him? Why didn't anyone tell him?

Tsuna slipped out of bed, careful not to jostle the sleeping bodies on it too much, and headed towards the bathroom to get ready for the day. After a thorough scrubbing and brushing, he emerge as fluffy haired and clean as he was every morning before trudging towards the kitchen. He emerged from the hallway and noted that nobody was around.

Well, nobody but a somber Reborn, Tsuna thought somewhat sourly.

"Good morning," Tsuna said shortly. He opened the refrigerator to find something to make.

"Dame-Tsuna," Reborn answered before bopping the human on the head. Hard.

Tsuna whined and glared over his shoulder accusingly, where Reborn had settled and was curling her sideburns around her finger. "What was that for?" he whined.

Reborn shook her head. "I want a sunny side up egg this morning. And make me coffee."

Tsuna grumbled, which earned him another not-so-gentle hit on the head, before he started making breakfast for himself and his moody tutor.

It seemed as if he weren't the only one in a bad mood.

Soon enough, breakfast was ready, wide extras in the pan in case one of the other gods decided to wake up (which Tsuna rather doubted…the gods could be very heavy sleepers when they weren't nestled in his hair). He settled down in his seat and started on his eggs. Opposite of him, Reborn was sipping coffee from the smallest mug he had and eating bits of egg. Tsuna would have found the image of a small goddess eating with giant utensils amusing if it weren't for the fact that Tsuna hadn't forgotten that Reborn had oh-so-conveniently forgotten that his father was an ambassador.

"You're upset with me," Reborn started, sticking the smallest straw Tsuna had ever seen into the yolk of the egg and sipping delicately.

Tsuna didn't bother answering.

"You want to know why we didn't tell you that your father had such close relationships with magical beings, didn't you?" Reborn continued, twirling her straw. Tsuna watched as drops of yolk starting flowing over the white of the egg. Reborn didn't bother with her quickly dying breakfast and finally focused her eyes on her student. "Do you want to know why?"

Tsuna hesitated. Did he want to know why some of the most trusted beings he knew decided to withhold information from him? Did he want to know if Reborn knew how much of an impact his father had on him, the devastation of not having a father for the majority of his life? He sucked in a breath.

Tsuna was many things, but a coward he was not.

"Yes. Why didn't you tell me?"

Because even if Reborn hadn't told him things he should have known, he knew that she had a reason. And even if his trust had been betrayed, he still trusted Reborn as a person (well, a goddess).

Reborn cut her egg delicately and popped the piece in her mouth. She chewed thoughtfully before swallowing and pinning her eyes on him.

"We know every single person in Japan, Tsuna. We know their identities, we know what they do. We are practically omniscient. However, some of us don't like digging into someone's past," Reborn began, voice steely. "We like pretending not knowing who someone is. So to be honest, when I first met you, I did not look into your past. Many of us did not. When Iemitsu arrived, I was…surprised."

Tsuna took a moment to revel in the triumph of having Reborn admit that she had been caught off guard.

"Then your relationship came to the surface, and I finally connected you two. So I could not have told you, Tsuna, because while I could have pulled the information up, I did not."

Tsuna was silent. That Reborn wouldn't do her research was somewhat baffling, but Tsuna accepted her explanation. And the moment Tsuna relaxed, a vicious smirk crept over Reborn's face, and the goddess immediately shot a rubber bullet at her student, who jerked backwards and fell out of his chair.

"You will go talk to Iemitsu properly. Neither of you understand each other well enough, and if you stopped and thought for once in your life, Dame-Tsuna, you'd realized that Iemitsu is also somewhat justified in his life choices as well." Reborn dismissed Tsuna and turned her full attention back to her egg.

Feeling somewhat indignant at the fact of being dismissed so easily after such an explanation, anger at his father (exactly _what _reason did his father have for leaving his family), and adamant refusal to see his father.

He sighed and washed his own dish before toeing on his shoes. "I'm going out."

"Go clear your head, Dame-Tsuna," was Reborn's farewell.

As he left the dorms, he felt a light weight land on his shoulder. A quick glance revealed the goddess to be Kyoko, who smiled warmly at Tsuna.

"I couldn't help but overhear your conversation with Reborn, Tsuna-chan. For what it's worth, I'm sorry," Kyoko apologized.

Tsuna grinned wryly. "It's fine. I think…it was just an emotional day. I don't think I have any reason to be mad at you guys," he admitted honestly. "I just started making assumptions that you all knew who my dad was, because you guys clearly knew who my dad was. I'm sorry for how I acted towards you last night."

Kyoko smiled sunnily and tugged fondly on the young man's hair. "You have no need to apologize. We'll just call it water under the bridge, okay?"

Tsuna breathed out a laugh as he walked towards the local park. "Okay."

The two spent a peaceful time at the park, gazing out at laughing children and indulgent adults. Tsuna bought an ice cream and shared some with Kyoko, who exclaimed over the cold melon flavor and fell in love. Tsuna laughed at the green mustache Kyoko had and felt tension slowly seep out of his shoulders.

He was slowly joined by the other gods and bought a couple of more icecreams. The vendor looked at him with a strange expression when Tsuna bought five for himself (one was really for himself, the other four were for Kyoko, Ryohei, Lambo, and Chrome). He found a fairly secluded area so he didn't have to worry about other people seeing magically floating ice cream cones and sat on the grass to stare up at the blue sky.

If he saw his father again, Tsuna thought, relenting slightly, he'd hear him out. He'd demand an explanation that made sense, and then he'd give his father the tongue lashing of his life.

XxX

It turned out that it wasn't his father that he saw first, but rather the mysterious tanuki who was identified as Dino. Romario was absent, but there was another young man, around Tsuna's age, with blond hair and blue eyes, sitting on his dorm room couch and chatting amiably with Dino.

As Tsuna entered, he paused, blinking in surprise before a serious expression fell over his face.

"Ah, thou must be Sawada Tsunayoshi-dono. My name is Basil," the younger blond introduced himself, standing in bowing. "I have been asked to come and speak to thou."

"And why doesn't my dad come talk to me himself?" Tsuna asked, confused by Basil's strange manner of speech and hurt that his own father wouldn't talk to him but rather sent a representative. Familiar bitterness swelled up in his chest.

"He was afraid that thou would reject him again, so he sent me to…ah, give thou some information before he tried to approach once again," Basil responded, sharing a glance with Dino.

"Your friends are rather protective," Dino said cheerfully, tilting his head to a belligerent Hayato, whom Tsuna just noticed was standing on the table beside Takeshi. Hayato had a small cigarette in his mouth and glowering at the tanuki.

"What's the Bucking Bronco doing here?" Kyoya growled out, whipping out his tonfa. He grinned a not-very-comforting grin. "I'll bite you to death."

"The Bucking Bronco?"

As Tsuna ignored the very manly squeals coming from the taller blond and the various sounds of impact coming from the war god, Basil answered, "Dino-dono's skill with the whip has earned him his title. However, without any of his subordinates…"

There was a particularly loud crash as Dino crashed into the coffee table.

"…he's very uncoordinated."

Tsuna eyed Dino, really hoping that he wouldn't break anything before sitting down beside Basil.

"So what have you come to talk to me about?" Tsuna asked. There were now small sounds of explosion as Hayato jumped into the fray, growling about how Dino would even _dare _ruin Tsuna-sama's (since when did he become Tsuna-_sama_?!) living room, and Takeshi laughed carefreely.

Why was this even his life.

Basil sat silently, accepting a cup of tea from Kyoko gratefully and blowing on it. After he sipped, he wisely held his tea instead of putting it on the coffee table as Dino impacted the ground rather painfully.

"Thou must understand, Tsunayoshi-dono, that Iemitsu-dono is not particularly in touch with his feelings, despite his many good traits," Basil began. Reborn was listening attentively despite her careless countenance. It seemed she and Tsuna were the only ones really involved in the conversation, as everybody else was either watching or joining in in the scuffle that involved Dino. "He is a very attentive ambassador, and he takes his duties very seriously."

"Who are you to him, then?" Tsuna asked, grudging the fact that this young man knew more about his father than he did himself. "Why doesn't he just ask you to become the ambassador?"

"There are many reasons, Tsunayoshi-dono. I will answer thy questions and more, and I hope that thou will forgive your father when I have finished," Basil responded placidly, with a hint of earnestness in his eyes. Tsuna backed down and focused his attention on the blond in front of him.

"Alright, then. I can't promise that I'll forgive him, but go on."

Basil inhaled a large breath and released it before beginning his tale.

"Iemitsu-dono is a very important person, thou must understand. He has smoothed relationships between demons and humans and has negotiated many deals with the demons. He is part of the reason that youkai are not running rampant on the streets, and the gods are not dictating every action of the humans. He is also the reason that humans have not entirely discovered the existence of magical beings, for if humans were to find out, there would for sure be chaos.

"However, thou must realize that he cannot fulfill his duties without making enemies. Thou hast been lucky, Tsunayoshi-dono, to have not had any fatal encounters with these enemies. There are demons who grudge the peace, who do not agree with the peaceful relations between humans and the gods. He left, Tsunayoshi-dono, to protect thee and his lovely wife.

"He keeps a picture of thee and Nana-dono in his wallet, and gazes at it very fondly every day. His love is very obvious, but he cannot express it freely in fear that his enemies will target his family. So he left and visited not often at all. He hoped to protect thee.

"But not all of his enemies are ignorant of thy existence. He has so far protected thee and fended off all attacks, but he cannot do so forever. Thus, he wants thee to take up his mantle, to protect not only thyself, but also thy mother. This is also the reason why he did not ask me to follow in his own footsteps. He hoped that, with training and experience, thou wouldst gain the necessary skills, both physical and mental, to protect thyself. I am merely an advisor, a secretary if thee will, to him.

"So please understand, Tsunayoshi-dono, that it is not entirely on his own voluntary will that he left thee and Nana-dono."

After the speech, there were still sounds of fighting going on in the background, but they had died down significantly. Takeshi had fixed a sharp look at the young blond, and Dino, though bruised and covered in shallow cuts that oozed blood, had also glanced up with serious eyes. Reborn had pulled her fedora over her face and muttered "fool" under her breath. There were sympathetic glances all around, because everybody present understood the grave danger of attracting the wrong kind of attention in the magical world. The closest Tsuna had come to such an experience had been with Mukuro, with his near death experience, and with Xanxus's competition. Tsuna could see his father's somewhat convoluted reasoning.

He didn't like it, but he understood. After all, he thought that if he'd been in the same position as Iemitsu, he would have made similar, if not the same, choices. Tsuna valued family and friends above all, and if that included avoiding them and making them hate him, then fine, he'd bear the burden.

Tsuna nodded and ducked his head. Because even if he didn't like it, and he didn't forgive his dad, he sympathized.

"I see. Thanks, Basil, for explaining," Tsuna said finally, after a while. "I…thanks. I'll talk to my dad, sometime. Just…give me some time, okay?"

Basil seemed relieved and stood. He smiled gently. "Take thy time, Tsunayoshi-dono. All you have to do is call Iemitsu-dono to speak with him. I will take my leave now."

Tsuna nodded and saw him out the door.

After Basil left, Tsuna sighed, his shoulder slumping. He trudged back to the couch and collapsed.

"…well, now that that's over, I'd like to get to know my little brother better!" Dino said cheerily in an attempt to lift the somber air. There were another couple of kicks aimed at his head for his careless comment.

Tsuna twitched and cracked a smile at the clumsy older male. "All right, then. Why am I your little brother?"

Dino smiled charmingly, and had Tsuna been a girl, he would have swooned. "Because I work closely with your dad, and he's told me so many stories about you now! I feel like I could be your older brother, and I want to take care of the ambassador's son because Iemitsu's a pretty cool guy and has helped the tanuki a ton, so I want to get to know you better!"

Tsuna couldn't quite follow the logic, and he stiffened when he heard mention of his dad, but he widened his lips in what he hoped was a smile and nodded. "Yeah, okay, that's fine, I guess. Want to go out?"

XxX

They ended up going to the local amusement part, Kokuyo Land. Although somewhat empty and lacking business, Tsuna's group made up a majority of good cheer. Tsuna had called up Enma to ask if he wanted to go (Xanxus had been increasingly busy with his new duties, and Byakuran had been suspiciously absent the past couple of days), so halfway through their adventure onto rollercoasters and ten thousand meter drops (that's what if felt like to Tsuna, at least), the gentle redhead had joined them. He'd glanced at Dino questioningly and was promptly accosted by Lambo, who had seemed to grown a liking to the inugami. Tsuna had only smiled. There really was nothing much that could lift his spirits like spending a day with his friends.

It was a chaotic day. When they had tried to ride a water ride, there'd been a mysterious plop, and suddenly, there was a giant, vicious turtle on the loose. Dino had claimed that he could handle it, but without Romario close by, he quickly became useless, and Reborn tasked Tsuna with subduing it. After much panicking and hesitance, the large turtle was finally upended onto his back, stubby legs waving wildly in the air. Tsuna sighed in relief and concluded that the day had been adventurous enough. They returned to the dorms for dinner, during which Kyoya had demanded hamburger steak, Mukuro ordered pineapple fried rice, and Ryohei insisted on (extremely) healthy vegetables. Tsuna wasn't quite sure how to satisfy all of their demands, so he ended up making spaghetti, which everybody grudgingly settled for at first and voraciously slurped down later.

Dino left after bidding Tsuna goodbye, and Tsuna went to bed, content.

He'd call his father tomorrow. Even if he didn't want to, he would call him, and he'd explain his own terms. He understood Iemitsu's circumstances, now it was time for him to understand Tsuna's.

XxX

"Hey, dad?"

"_Tsuna! Hello, how are you?"_ came the loud, boisterous, and faintly idiotic voice of his father. Tsuna sighed and indulged his father in the pleasantries.

"I'm fine. How're you?"

_"__Good, good._"

There was an awkward pause, in which Iemitsu coughed and cleared his voice, and Tsuna fiddled with a loose string on his couch.

"Do you-"

_"__How about-"_

There was another embarrassed pause. God, this was beyond awkward.

"Do you want to meet with me at the Vongola Café? You know the one, on the corner of the street we used to live on?" Tsuna asked in a rush.

There was a relieved sigh on the other end.

_"__That's fine. Noon? I remember them selling sandwiches too, we can grab lunch_."

"Yeah," Tsuna answered. "I'll see you then."

_"__I'll see you!"_

Tsuna clicked his cellphone shut and groaned.

"Kufufu, do you want us to come along, Tsunayoshi? We can ditch the stupid ambassador and have a lovely outing all by ourselves. What do you say to that?" a voiced purred near his ear, and Tsuna irritably swatted Mukuro away. The moon god pouted.

Lambo, as predictable as ever, immediately defended his dear nii-chan. "Don't bother him, pineapple head!"

"Despite what you think, you can't dictate his every action, cow."

"What did you say?!"

"Shut up, cow, and you, shitty pineapple, stop hoisting your repressed sexual desires onto Tsuna-sama!" Hayato barked. Tsuna wondered when Hayato suddenly became such a strong defender of his honor, he certainly didn't remember doing anything to deserve such regard (the time where he rescued all of their lives from a psychotic moon god seemed to slip his mind).

Tsuna sighed at the standard amount of chaos that seemed to permeate his life. He stood and glanced at the clock. He had an hour until noon, so maybe around half an hour before he had to leave.

"Do you EXTREMELY want us to come, Sawada? We can provide support!" Ryohei exclaimed, punching the air with her bandage covered fist. Kyoko smiled her agreement beside the more exuberant goddess, with Chrome blushingly agreeing. It seemed the goddesses had become fast friends. The exact opposite could be said about the moon goddess's counterpart, however.

"Oya, are you sure you're not harboring your own desires for our dear little tuna fish? A little flame from the fire god will never live up to my impressive desire for him, however. You better give up now."

"S-shut up!"

The argument seemed to take a strange turn, and Tsuna diligently ignored them for the sake of his sanity.

"I'm fine, but thank you. I'll see you this afternoon, okay?"

The goddesses nodded their acquiescence. Tsuna returned to his room to doodle some on his sketchpad, hoping that no more gods would suddenly pop into existence, and shaded his drawing. It depicted what he thought Byakuran would look like, a white fox with that same strange mark under his purple eye and purple tipped tails. As he sketched, his mind wandered to his missing friend, and worry grew.

Something was wrong with the kitsune. Never had Byakuran gone so long without returning to the dorms, and especially not without informing Tsuna. He set his sketchpad down and frowned. He would check up on Byakuran later, he decided.

XxX

"I'm glad you've decided to talk to me," Iemitsu said, and Tsuna bristled at the somewhat condescending words. Ietmitsu took a sip of his coffee and gazed at the sandwich placed in front of him somewhat hungrily.

"I should say the same to you," Tsuna shot back before closing his eyes at the flash of regret in his dad's eyes. "I'm sorry. It's been a rough couple of days."

There was a pause and a small mutter of "it's okay" before Tsuna mustered up his courage to look his father in the eye.

"Look, I get why you left. I know why you wanted me to give up drawing, to get better at my academics, why you want me to follow in your footsteps. I…I think, what you did, it was cruel, and you could have made better choices on how your protected us, but I think you were only thinking the best for our family," Tsuna began, his father listening attentively for the first time Tsuna could remember. "I understand, and I just, well, thanks, but I can't forgive you, and I don't want to become the ambassador of anything."

Iemitsu was about to immediately protest, but Tsuna shook his head sharply and pinned his dad with a glare. "You haven't been the best dad, but you've kept mom's and my safeties in mind these years. So, I just want you to know that you don't have to worry anymore. I've got gods on my side now, dad, and Reborn's taught me a ton about defending myself. I'm stronger now, dad."

Iemitsu looked incredibly doubtful. "The gods won't be around forever. The only way I can be assured of your safety is if you follow me, where I can protect you, and teach you how to handle yourself with humans, gods, and magical creatures."

"I'm learning now!" Tsuna exclaimed, passionate. "Everybody's teaching me things. I learned a ton about tengu culture with Xanxus, and I've got a grasp on god history too. I don't want to be your copy, dad. I don't want to have to make the same choices you did."

The older man seemed saddened by the words and closed his eyes. "I just want the best for you, Tsuna."

"Then let me choose my own path," Tsuna said gently and hesitated before laying his hand on his dad's. The larger hand was rough beneath his fingers, speaking of decades of experience and hard work. "I want to draw, dad. I've got friends, powerful friends, and I'm learning to protect myself. Please."

Iemitsu sighed and smiled resignedly. "Okay. I'll respect your wishes. I just want you to make me a promise."

"What is it?"

"Grow stronger, Tsuna. Grow to become the man that I couldn't be for my family," Iemitsu said and stood, leaving his sandwich half eaten on his plate. "I've…I guess this changes things. I'll have to change my plans for the future now." Iemitsu chuckled and threw a jokingly accusing look towards his son. "You threw all of my plans into the trash."

Tsuna only smiled wryly. "Can you make me a promise too?"

His dad looked wary but nodded.

"Can you visit Mama more? She gets sad, even if she doesn't show it much and has more friends now. She loves you, and I know you love her too. So…visit her, okay?" the young college student asked, and Iemitsu smiled, muted but still genuine.

"Okay. I'll do that."

Tsuna watched Iemitsu quickly scurry out of the café, awkward, but looking lighter than he had coming in. Tsuna himself felt a burden lift from his shoulders.

Their relationship still wasn't the best, and it still wasn't mended, but they were on their way to having a more healthy one, and Tsuna was happy with that. He was happier about his family matters now than he was yesterday.

He smiled and finished his tuna sandwich before paying for both of their meals and leaving. He breathed in the brisk air and smiled at the sky.

It was a beautiful day, he thought, spirits lifted. There wasn't much that could ruin it.

Of course, as it seemed to be with his life, he had spoken too soon, and he found himself engulfed in the most peculiar pink smoke before the ground fell around him and he fell unconscious.

XxX

Reborn was very worried. Of course, she never showed such concern outwardly, but she was quite worried. Tsuna had gone out to lunch with Iemitsu and hadn't return yet. She glanced at the clock that read five in the evening and tilted her fedora down. Surely it didn't take that long to eat dinner? She'd called Iemitsu several minutes ago, who seemed surprised to hear her and assured her that he and Tsuna had smoothed things out a couple of hours ago already.

Tsuna still wasn't back yet.

Now, there were several reasonable answers to why he wasn't cooking dinner for them yet. He could have gone shopping for groceries, he might have been sidetracked, but usually, the young man was diligent in calling ahead to Enma or the gods if he had to be late.

The large amount of magical energy that had burst a short distance away wasn't reassuring, either.

She clenched her fist and rose to go in search for her wayward student when there was a knock on the door. Tsuna and his roommates wouldn't bother with knocking, they had their own keys. Reborn readied her gun with real bullets, and with a flick of her hands, the door flew open.

She was surprised to see a large group of kitsune standing in front of the door, but she levelled her gun anyways and demanded, "What are you doing here?"

The kitsune in front, a tall man with strange, teal hair and eye shadow frowned. "We have a problem, and it involves the human Byakuran-sama calls Tsu-kun."

A dark aura spread from Reborn, and her beady black eyes pinned the group in place.

"_What did you say?"_

XxX

A/N: So, review please! There are no promises that I'll update sooner, because college is starting and I'm slacking off already, and I really should work harder now. Thanks for reading! According to my word/character count, this chapter is shorter by a few hundred words, and I hope you will forgive me. It's still longer than my first chapters, though! I try to aim for 12 pages, with is a little above 5000 characters for each chapter. That's a good length, right?

Best regards,

haplessgrapefrut


End file.
